News archive for Faculty of Social Sciences

- The Norwegian government is trying to normalize relations with China (29.04.2014)

China-expert Hans Jørgen Gåsemyr writes in an op-ed in Aftenposten that Norway needs good relations with a China on the rise, and that it therefore makes sense for the Norwegian government not to meet with the Dalai Lama now.

ARAB SPRING: Uprisings, Powers, Interventions (24.04.2014)

Kjetil Fosshagen is out with a new book, exploring the structural dynamics underpinning popular resistance and their support or suppression during the Arab Spring. The book asks; has the revolutions since been hijacked and the uprisings already usurped by the upper classes?

Politicians want to give the Norwegian Parliament more influence on the selection of Supreme Court justices (23.04.2014)

Professor Gunnar Grendstad argues in an op-ed in Klassekampen that the government’s and the Supreme Court’s involvement in the selection of justices could be problematic with respect to the separation of powers and democracy. He notes that some therefore have favored involving the Norwegian parliament more in the selection process.

Tatham with seven new articles on the role of regions in the EU system (22.04.2014)

Associate Professor Michaël Tatham does research on the role of regions in the EU system. This spring the prolific researcher has published seven new articles in the field.

- The person-focus of the media creates more political scandals (13.04.2014)

According to Professor Tor Midtbø of the Department of Comparative Politics, journalists have become more interested in the political game and what happens offstage, and this leads to more political scandals. Midtbø was recently interviewed by newspaper Mandag Morgen about a new Nordic research project on political scandals in which he is engaged.

New international research project on welfare reform in Russia (13.04.2014)

Professor Stein Kuhnle of the Department of Comparative Politics collaborates with Norwegian, Finnish, American and Russian partners on a new research project on welfare reform in Russia. The project is led by the Norwegian Institute for Urban and Regional Research.

Associate Professor Terje Knutsen’s Ukraine expertise in demand (09.04.2014)

The TV2 News Channel and The Royal Norwegian Naval Academy are among those asking for the Ukraine expertise of Associate Professor Terje Knutsen. During the tense situation in Ukraine Norwegian media have frequently asked for the Eastern Europe expert’s assessment.

The EU’s ambassador to Norway visits the Department of Comparative Politics (04.04.2014)

The Ukraine crisis, the free trade agreement between the EU and the US and the EU’s relations with Norway were among the topics the EU’s ambassador to Norway Helen Campbell spoke about in her visit to the Department of Comparative Politics April 4th.

Does postponed first pregnancy increase gender differences in sickness absence? (04.04.2014)

Anja M. S. Ariansen at The Department of Sociology and Arnstein Mykletun has published a new study that investigates whether higher average age at first delivery increase gender differences in sickness absence.

Can a future climate change threaten the current hydropower production in Norway? (02.04.2014)

In today’s economic and power consuming state, hydropower can be regarded as the most critical and beneficial renewable resource in Norway. The main goal of my project is to visualize past temporal snowlines on the west coast mountain regions in Norway during varying future climate scenarios and to study how this will affect the production of hydropower.