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We are a methodologically diverse, interdisciplinary group of researchers investigating democracy in contemporary societies.

Recent Publications

Visual politicization and youth challenges to an unequal public sphere: conceptual and methodological perspectives

By discussing current youth’s democratic practices and introducing the concept of visual politicization, Eeva Luhtakallio, Taina Meriluoto and Carla Malafaia argue for a reconsideration of what we understand as political action and propose new methodological tools for analyzing it.

Visual bodies, ritualised performances: an offline-online analysis of Extinction Rebellion’s protests in Finland and Portugal

In their article, Carla Malafaia, Jenni Kettunen and Eeva Luhtakallio explore the function of bodies as tools of visibility in ritualised online-offline performances. By analysing performative protests, the authors shed light on the importance of paying attention to non-verbal levels of political action and argumentation.

Education and climate activism: Youth democratic practices and imaginations towards a common world

In this editorial Carla Malafaia,Maria Fernandes-Jesus and Eeva Luhtakallio discuss the diverse ways young generations have become mobilized in new ways to tackle the climate crisis and picture ways towards a common world and practices.

Recent News & Blog Posts

Falling Walls Science Breakthrough of the Year 2022 award to Eeva Luhtakallio and ImagiDem

What are the next walls to fall in science and society? Led by this question, the brightest minds from the international scientific community submitted their groundbreaking projects for the prestigious Falling Walls Science Breakthrough of the Year 2022.

Nuorten ääni ravintola-alalla vallitsevista ongelmista on syytä ottaa vakavasti

Julkisuuteen noussut kohu on keskittynyt pääasiassa yhden suuren ketjuravintolan toimintakulttuuriin, mutta Lotta Junnilaisen ja Lotta Haikkolan haastatteluiden perusteella ongelmat eivät koske yksittäistä pikaruokaketjua, vaan ravintola-alaa laajemminkin.

Reflections on the Russian aggression in Ukraine from a Finnish perspective

The war in Ukraine has evoked immediate gut reactions from a distant, yet very mobilizable collective memory reserve in Finland: Russia, again. And: Are we next? We have certainly seen this one before, even though nobody wanted to see it coming this time.

Our Projects

CSD is engaged in multiple separate projects:

Imagidem

ImagiDem explores and conceptualises visual participation of young European citizens. By understanding how today's youth build political arguments, solve conflicts, build commonality, and what tools they use to politicize issues of their concern, the project aims at formulating a model of democratic practices of the 2020s.

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YCAP logo

The YCAP project studies ethnographically and computationally how young people in Finland today participate in civil society and politics, on- and offline, through four different modes: anti-/proto-politics, empowerment projects, activism, and formal politics.

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Totaalidemokratia logo

In Finland, millions of people are living in the state of total democracy: all the institutions of their life are democratic in one way or another. How does this  parademocratic system function as part of the democratic whole, and which cultural tools of democracy are being used  in these settings?

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Read more about the project (in Finnish)

moral_polarization_logo_white

Moral polarization means a lack of shared moral frameworks which makes it difficult to solve moral debates in the public. Polarization is detrimental to societal belonging and trust, which are important not only for stability but progress, too. The project studies morally polarized public debates to find common ground.

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Demokratiatekijät logo white

Demokratiatekijät reinforces institutional structures within CSD, strengthens analytical ties across different research projects, and brings the center's groundbreaking research to wider audiences through multiple channels of outreach.

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RORE logo white

The RORE project studies ethnographically how activists in Finland today engage in high-risk activism. The research focuses on how these activist groups take shape, how risk affects group dynamics, and how the phenomena relates to changes in Finnish political culture.

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HYHY logo white

Kaikenlaisilla alueilla syntyy jaettuja käsityksiä siitä, mikä on tavallista ja toivottavaa, mutta kuitenkin vain joidenkin alueiden normaalista tulee yhteiskuntaa määrittävä normi – ”normatiivinen normaali”. HYHY-projekti tarkastelee hyvän elämän normia ja sen rakentumista koulutetun keskiluokan asuinalueilla.

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Read more about the project (in Finnish)