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Topics: Social sciences

Initiative for research on conflicting objectives in sustainable development

Initiative for research on conflicting objectives in sustainable development

Uppsala University inaugurates a new research institute, UUniCORN, aimed at identifying, analysing and navigating conflicting objectives in sustainable societal transition. The new institute is set up on the initiative of Vice-Chancellor Anders Hagfeldt as part of Uppsala University’s ambition to be a more active partner in creating an ecologically, socially and economically sustainable society.

Professor Karen Brounéus, Department of Peace and Conflict Research. Photo: Chris Chau

Women vulnerable in peace processes

New research: Post-war peace processes are a dangerous period for women, who are forced to live close to men who committed serious abuse during the war, which can be stigmatising. Women safety is not a political priority after war. There is great potential for improvement, if the UN were to start making more space for women’s perspectives, writes peace- and conflict researchers in PLOS One.

Introducing competition between schools involves a lot of work and major costs

After the introduction of the freedom to choose between upper secondary schools in Sweden 1992, it took nearly ten years for upper secondary school heads to start seeing themselves as competitors. Any analysis of change from a later perspective needs to bear in mind that a transition of this kind takes a good deal of organising, costs a lot of money and takes many years to become established.

Queues negatively impacted voter turnout

Turnout in the general elections in 2022 fell more sharply in electoral districts that had long queues to the polling stations than in comparable districts without queuing issues. Queuing can only explain a small part of the decrease in turnout between the years 2018 and 2022, however. 87 percent of the population voted in 2018, which fell to 84 percent in 2022.

Uppåt (Upwards) Part of light and sound installation at Odarslöv Church (2018). Artist and photographer: Jesper Wachtmeister

From living heritage to zombie churches

Churches are preserved by an antiquarian system that risks killing them instead of keeping them alive. The Swedish State and the Church of Sweden therefore need to define new joint visions and goals to enable the ecclesiastical cultural heritage to be used and developed. This is shown by historian of art Henrik Lindblad in a new doctoral thesis from Uppsala University.

The vulnerability of surrogate mothers in a global market

A new dissertation on surrogacy highlights Thai women's experiences of having acted as surrogate mothers. The dissertation shows the women's vulnerability in a global surrogacy industry, but also provides a more nuanced picture of what makes women seek surrogacy and how they relate to the process.

Jenny Björklund, associate professor of literature and senior lecturer in gender studies at the Centre for Gender Research at Uppsala University

​Why mothers in novels leave their families

Mothers leaving their families is not a new theme in Swedish fiction. But the reasons for leaving have changed. It is no longer about lack of gender equality, instead, they feel suffocated by the nuclear family, by the children or simply by society’s demands to have children. That is one of the conclusions in Jenny Björklund’s research on why mothers in 21st century books leave their families.

Downward trend broken in 2020 – fatalities in organised violence increase again

New data from Uppsala Conflict Data Program (UCDP), at Uppsala University, show that the total number of fatalities stemming from organised violence increased in 2020, after five consecutive years of falling numbers. Despite a substantial decrease in violence in the two biggest wars of the 2010s, Afghanistan and Syria, UCDP registered more than 80,100 deaths in organised violence in 2020.

Conspiracy theories characterise views in and about Europe

Conspiratorial narratives of internal disintegration and external threats affect views in the European Union and Europe to an increasing extent. Our trust in society is put to the test in crises when various groups are singled out as the villains. In extreme cases, this can inspire acts of terror. Researchers from Uppsala University are among those demonstrating this in a new book.

This year’s recipient of the Johan Skytte Prize is ​David D. Laitin, Stanford University. Illustration: Anna Ileby

David D. Laitin is awarded the Johan Skytte Prize in Political Science

David D. Laitin, Stanford University, is this year’s recipient of the Johan Skytte Prize, known by many as the ‘Nobel Prize in Political Science’. Professor Laitin is awarded the prize for his “original and objective explanation of how politics shapes cultural strategies in heterogeneous societies.”

Increasing levels of violence in Africa – peace researchers worried by recent trend

New data from the Uppsala Conflict Data Program (UCDP), Uppsala University, shows that the number of fatalities in organised violence continues to decrease. The declared defeat of Islamic State (IS) in Syria and Iraq has pushed the number of fatalities to its lowest level since the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in 2011. However, peace researchers are worried about recent trends in Africa.

Online game has transnational impact as “vaccine” against fake news

Bad News, a game devised to make players better at spotting fake news and misinformation, has the intended effect in Sweden, Greece, Germany and Poland. This is evident from a new academic study from the Universities of Uppsala and Cambridge. The assessment shows an improvement in players’ ability to detect fabricated news reports while retaining their trust in real news.

Professor ​Jane Mansbridge

Jane Mansbridge is the 24th laureate of the Johan Skytte Prize in Political Science

​Jane Mansbridge, Charles F. Adams Professor in Political Leadership and Democratic Values at Harvard University, is awarded the 2018 Johan Skytte Prize in Political Science. Professor Mansbridge wins the prize for “with sharpness, deep involvement and feminist theory having shaped our understanding of democracy in its direct and representative forms.”

Credit: Anna Ileby/The Skytte Foundation

Amartya Sen awarded the 2017 Johan Skytte Prize in Political Science

Amartya Sen awarded the 2017 Johan Skytte Prize in Political ScienceThe Johan Skytte Prize annually recognises the most valuable contribution to the field of Political Science. This year’s prize is awarded to Amartya Sen, Thomas W. Lamont Professor at Harvard University.

One in five residents overuses electricity at neighbours’ expense

Household electricity use falls by more than 30% when residents are obliged to pay for their own personal consumption. This is shown in a new study by researchers at Uppsala University’s and the Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IFN), published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA (PNAS).

Cooking and masculinity in Sweden

In a newly published study in The Sociological Review, researchers from Uppsala University and Stockholm University have explored how everyday domestic cooking is part of a self-understanding of men in Sweden and how the expressed sociality of cooking is intertwined with masculinity.

Donation for New Sociology Prize

Uppsala University has received its first donation for sociology to be used for the Hans L. Zetterberg Prize “to be awarded yearly to a younger researcher, Swedish or foreign, who, with his/her scientific work in sociology, preferably through fruitful combination of theory and practice, has moved the research front forward.”

Upward trend in fatalities in organized violence was broken in 2015

The alarming upward trend in fatalities in organized violence, witnessed over the last few years, was broken in 2015. This is evident from new data from the Uppsala Conflict Data Program (UCDP), Uppsala University. The number of armed conflicts involving states continued to increase, however, going from 41 in 2014 to as many as 50 in 2015.

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Uppsala University - quality, knowledge, and creativity since 1477

Founded in 1477, Uppsala University is the oldest university in Sweden. With more than 50,000 students and 7,500 employees in Uppsala and Visby, we are a broad university with research in social sciences, humanities, technology, natural sciences, medicine and pharmacology. Our mission is to conduct education and research of the highest quality and relevance to society on a long-term basis. Uppsala University is regularly ranked among the world’s top universities.

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