Media and the Public Sphere
In recent years, media and the public sphere has emerged as a research topic at the Institute for Social Research. Constant changes in the media landscape raise new issues of public debate, political communication and citizen participation in democracy.
In collaboration between political scientists, sociologists and media scientists, broad research on these topics has emerged at the Institute for Social Research in recent years. We combine research on how parties, politicians and public authorities communicate in public, with research on citizens' attitudes and participation in politics and civil society.
Debate cultures in the new public and the consequences of these are given special attention, and we are researching the limits of freedom of speech and the prevalence of hate speech. The topic also includes specific studies of the media and media systems within a globalized and digitized context, as well as projects on communication and governance in ministries, both internally and externally.
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Most Recent Media and the Public Sphere Projects
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The Norwegian Local Election Studies of 2027 and 2031 Sep. 24, 2026
This project continues our research into Norwegian municipal and county elections. Central themes include voter behavior and participation, in addition to representation, political trust, the media and AI.
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- isf-project
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- democracy
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- elections
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- media
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Hate speech and threats against local politicians June 30, 2026
This project examines the measures, routines and support systems in place to address hate, threats and harassment against local politicians. In addition, the scope, nature and consequences of hate, harassment and threats in the 2027 local election campaign are examined.
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- isf-project
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- discrimination
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- media
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- freedom of speech
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- elections
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- democracy
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Hate speech and threats against local politicians June 30, 2026
This project examines the measures, routines and support systems in place to address hate, threats and harassment against local politicians. In addition, the scope, nature and consequences of hate, harassment and threats in the 2027 local election campaign are examined.
- type
- isf-project
- tag
- discrimination
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- media
- tag
- freedom of speech
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- elections
- tag
- democracy