What happens to democracy in times of war? How is democracy affected by war and by a future reconstruction phase in Ukraine?
The project will develop new knowledge about how key democratic functions, such as representation, participation, accountability, and the public sphere, are maintained, challenged, and transformed during war and in a future reconstruction phase.
Built on Four Social Arenas
The project is based on ongoing research at OsloMet in four arenas of Ukrainian society: working life, local administration, journalism, and schooling and education.
Across these areas, researchers will examine which mechanisms help legitimize and sustain democratic practices, and what new tensions the war creates.
The project adopts an interdisciplinary approach, combining expertise in Ukrainian society, democracy and governance, journalism and the public sphere, as well as education and democratic citizenship.
More about the project
The project has a dual objective: to develop new knowledge about democratic processes during war and to lay the foundation for larger international research projects on democratic resilience in times of war and crisis.
The project will result in a scientific article and an open seminar, in addition to an application for external funding. Relevant funding sources may include the Research Council of Norway and the EU Horizon Europe programme. A first draft of the scientific article will be presented at the annual UKRAINETT conference in autumn 2027 (uni.oslomet.no).
The project has been awarded NOK 890,000 in funding from OsloMet’s strategic research area "A Durable Democracy". It brings together six researchers from three academic environments at OsloMet: the Norwegian Institute for Urban and Regional Research (NIBR) at the Centre for Welfare and Labour Research (SVA), the Faculty of Social Sciences (SAM), and the Faculty of Education and International Studies (LUI).
