The role of civil society

Who gets what? – On meritocracy in local governance

In this episode, postdoctoral researcher Nora Anter [https://liu.se/en/employee/noran06] joins the podcast to discuss her research on meritocracy. In her thesis, she examined whether promotions in Sweden’s local government bureaucracy are based solely on merit, or whether they are influenced by the groups to which people belong. Which groups are disadvantaged in public-sector careers in Swedish local government today? Are there also advantages for certain groups? And what are the risks of recruitment based on personal connections? Join us to hear Nora reflect on why fair and equal treatment in recruitment is important for a well-functioning bureaucracy - and for a legitimate democracy more generally. -- The podcast series is brought to you by the political science unit at Linköping University and hosted by Helena Iacobaeus, PhD student in political science. For questions or suggestions on topics, e-mail helena.iacobaeus@liu.se [helena.iacobaeus@liu.se]. Intro music credit: ZakharValaha from Pixabay. -- Listen to more podcasts from Linkoping University: https://liu.se/en/podcast [https://liu.se/en/podcast]

Courts as political actors

In this episode, Dr Karin Leijon [https://liu.se/en/employee/karle45], associate professor in political science, talks about courts as political actors. Based on her research, she addresses the influence the judicial power has on our every-day lives. Furthermore, what does the rule of law mean for citizens in terms of stability or transparency? Why is it important to separate legislative, executive, and judicial power, and how can this separation and the rule of law help safeguard democracy? Hear more about this in the May episode of Aspects of Democracy! Karin has studied several different types of courts and, for example, written about public court defiance and about the relation between national courts and the Court of Justice of the European Union. -- The podcast series is brought to you by the political science unit at Linköping University and hosted by Helena Iacobaeus, PhD student in political science. For questions or suggestions on topics, e-mail helena.iacobaeus@liu.se [helena.iacobaeus@liu.se]. Intro music credit: ZakharValaha from Pixabay. -- Listen to more podcasts from Linkoping University: https://liu.se/en/podcast [https://liu.se/en/podcast]

Politics and music

Thanks to the listeners’ questions, Mikael Rundqvist [https://liu.se/en/employee/mikru35], associate professor in political science, joins Helena Iacobaeus in a vivid fireside chat on music and politics! They bring up music that aims to change society for the better and music for expressing political visions or dystopias. Have meeting and bonding through music been a source of empowerment in freedom movements and democracy movements in history? They talk about political music they grew up with, but they also address songs that might say something important about society today. Or have we already reached the end of musical history? Is there a song list? Of course there is. [https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4izh5fPwhhtNzXIdIyzJkg?si=Z9Z19ROxSkC0qdPuTK_SVQ&pi=Dj8Z3sgbSuCym] -- The podcast series is brought to you by the political science unit at Linköping University and hosted by Helena Iacobaeus, PhD student in political science. For questions or suggestions on topics, e-mail helena.iacobaeus@liu.se [helena.iacobaeus@liu.se]. Intro music credit: ZakharValaha from Pixabay. -- Listen to more podcasts from Linkoping University: https://liu.se/en/podcast [https://liu.se/en/podcast]

Hello neighbour! Is municipal cooperation good for democracy?

What can be done when a local municipality lacks resources to take on the challenges of today? One way is to pool resources by cooperating with neighbouring municipalities. In this episode, Katarina Sandberg, [https://liu.se/en/employee/katsa69] PhD candidate in political science, talks about her research on municipalities that take on challenges together. How common is intermunicipal cooperation? Could it be problematic from the point of view of democratic accountability or is it a welcome solution to common problems? Tune in to hear Katarina reflect on this and on her experiences of cultural differences and winds of change during her recent stay as a guest PhD candidate at Berkeley, US! -- The podcast series is brought to you by the political science unit at Linköping University and hosted by Helena Iacobaeus, PhD student in political science. For questions or suggestions on topics, e-mail helena.iacobaeus@liu.se [helena.iacobaeus@liu.se]. Intro music credit: ZakharValaha from Pixabay. -- Listen to more podcasts from Linkoping University: https://liu.se/en/podcast [https://liu.se/en/podcast]

Democracy beyond and above the state – the European Union in focus

What can be done to strengthen democracy in Europe? What are the main obstacles for legitimacy and accountability in supranational decision-making? Based on his research on the European Union, Martin Björklund [https://liu.se/en/employee/marbj02], PhD student in political science, talks about legitimacy, identity, challenges and values. Tune in to listen to our talk on where the European Union might be headed! -- The podcast series is brought to you by the political science unit at Linköping University and hosted by Helena Iacobaeus, PhD student in political science. For questions or suggestions on topics, e-mail helena.iacobaeus@liu.se [helena.iacobaeus@liu.se]. Intro music credit: ZakharValaha from Pixabay. -- Listen to more podcasts from Linkoping University: https://liu.se/en/podcast [https://liu.se/en/podcast]