Research seminar with Bo Rothstein.AbstractMost definitions of democracy rely on a set of procedural rules for how political power should be accessed legitimately. The basic norm for these procedural ru realized by equal democratic rights. In this understanding of political legitimacy, democracy is a “partisan game” where various interests are given fair possibilities to compete for political power. The concept of “quality of government” relates to the legitimacy in the of political power and is based on the norm of  that is the opposite of partisanship. This is to be realized by, for example, the rule of law and a public administration built on meritocracy. Several tensions between these two bases for achieving political legitimacy will be present. For example, a democratically elected government may want to politicize the public administration and may establish public services and benefits directed only to their political supporters. The rule of law includes the principle of equality before the law, but a democratically elected government may take actions that put itself “above” the law. Various empirical measures and philosophical principles for understanding these type of tensions between democracy and the quality of government will be presented in this lecture.

Bo Rothstein: Is there a contradiction between democracy and quality of government?

Most definitions of democracy rely on a set of procedural rules for how political power should be accessed legitimately. The basic norm for these procedural rules is according to noted democracy theor

Social Science Research. doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2018.03.009 Abstract Ethno-racial workplace segregation increases already existing ethno-racial inequality. While previous research has identified d

Institute for Futures Studies Working Paper Series 2020:12 Abstract The response to the Covid-19 pandemic, and the public discourse about the pandemic, can be used to illustrate three common mistakes in

Equality and equity in Swedish education: policy, practice and historical perspectives

Björn Åstrand, Universitetslektor vid Institutionen för idé- och samhällsstudier vid Umeå universitet. Equality and equity in education is since long a key policy priority internationally as well as in

Orri Stefánsson, philosopher at the Institute for Futures Studies and decision theorist, dissects the moral reasoning about the Covid-19 pandemic. (This text is part of the Institute for Futures Studie)

 A demographer calculates how the average life expectancy can be affected In Sweden, we now experience the first pandemic that occurs in a society with modern information technology, and it is also the

Social norms for cooperation under collective risk

How could people be individually motivated to cooperate to reduce the risk of a collective loss?

Björn Åstrand, Associate professor at Department of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies at Umeå University AbstractEquality and equity in education is since long a key policy priority intern

Donatella Della Porta, Professor of Sociology at Scuola normale superiore, and Director of the Centre of Social Movements Studies. ABSTRACTSocial movement studies have developed a useful kit of concept