The new project The resilience of liberal democracy in Finland (RESLIDE) was granted nearly 3 million euros of funding by the Strategic Research Council. The funding was awarded to a research consortium of five partner institutions: University of Helsinki, which will lead the project, and the Finnish Institute of International Affairs, Åbo Akademi University, University of Turku and University of Eastern Finland. The funding was granted for a three-year period from 1 December 2024 until 30 November 2027.
Research findings suggest that liberal democracy is at risk. Drawing on the global trend of democratic backsliding, the RESLIDE project will evaluate the resilience of liberal democracy in Finland and propose solutions to safeguard it. It will study commitment to democratic norms among citizens, politicians, and public administrators, explore democratic discourses online and in formal political arenas, and analyze inequalities in political representation and participation.
The research consortium is led by Professor Åsa von Schoultz from the University of Helsinki. Key work packages are led by Inga Saikkonen from Åbo Akademi University, Janne Tukiainen from University of Turku, Kimmo Elo from University of Eastern Finland, and Juha Jokela from FIIA.
The RESLIDE project aims to develop solutions that will function as an antidote to the erosion of democratic values. In this regard, FIIA will collaborate with a broad range of national stakeholders in different sectors, says FIIA’s Programme Director Jokela.
FIIA oversees the project’s Working Packages 2 and 7. The former focuses on democracy on global, European and Finnish levels, and the latter on the dissemination and interaction regarding the project and its outcomes. Juha Jokela, Postdoctoral Fellow Sanna Salo, Leading Researcher Sinikukka Saari and Senior Research Fellow Ville Sinkkonen form the project team of FIIA.
The Working Package 2 aims to produce new information on the links between global, European and national level democratic systems, and how these connections can be used to influence political processes in Western democracies, Sanna Salo describes.
More information:
Juha Jokela
Programme Director, The European Union and strategic competition
tel. +358 9 432 7730
juha.jokela@fiia.fi
