The Open Society
How is it that at the same time as insecurity in society seems to be increasing, more and more voices are being raised that renounce the liberal principles on which the open society rests? How does the increased open violence, in a context of pandemic and uncertain economy, affect the most basic democratic values of citizens?
Details
- Period: 2022-01-01 – 2025-12-31
- Funder: Det öppna samhället och dess utmaningar är ett samlingsnamn för fem olika projekt med olika anslagsgivare: Myndigheten för psykologiskt försvar, Myndigheten för samhällsskydd och beredskap, Vetenskapsrådet och Expertgruppen för Studier i Offentlig ekonomi.
Description
In the world order that prevailed during the Cold War, the defense of freedom of expression, freedom of opinion and political tolerance - necessary virtues for functioning democratic societies - was strengthened. In today's polarized society, the situation is different. Democracy and the principles of the rule of law are questioned and reconsidered. Social development is characterized by increased open violence and crime. Threats and harassment against officials at authorities are becoming more common. Demands for censorship, or for calls to be controlled, are also becoming more common. This complicates the governability of society and impairs the ability to deal with societal crises, whether they relate to internal or external security threats, economic downturns, natural disasters or pandemics. Against this background, this project examines how a polarized social development affects the basic values and attitudes on which democracy and the open society rest.
The project is about investigating the effects of a polarized social development on the fundamental values and attitudes on which democracy and the open society rest. We particularly focus on the increased open violence in society, but also the Corona pandemic and economic insecurity and what this means for the citizens' democratic values, the support for the open society, and - by extension - society's ability to maintain a good national preparedness and crisis management ability. The most important goal is to obtain new knowledge that will contribute to a more effective defense of democracy and the open society, and thus also a strengthened national preparedness and ability to handle various social crises.
We carry out this project with the help of various surveys aimed at citizens, in-depth interviews with blue light staff and analytical contributions from experienced publicists, debaters and researchers. The surveys are based on question batteries that focus on effects on trust and political tolerance. We examine trust between individuals as well as individuals' trust in the state and blue light operations. Political tolerance is about citizens' willingness to give everyone - even groups they themselves dislike - equal rights. This has never been investigated before in Sweden - despite the fact that precisely political tolerance is a cornerstone of democracy.