Research projects

Balancing Academic Excellence and Socio-Economic Relevance

The FLAGSHIP project examines and compares the strategies of Norwegian and other Western European universities in adapting to a global context that requires a better balance between academic excellence and socio-economic relevance.

The Transformation and Sustainability of the European Political Order

The European Union is with its multiple levels of governance a unique political system. In the EuroTrans project we ask: How are decisions made at the many levels of the EU? Is the union democratic? And how is the EU changing and what are the consequences for citizens and member states?

Some claim that in today’s Europe the constitutional-democratic character and legitimacy of the EU’s Member States can no longer be established without taking the effects of the EU properly into account. If so, does this also apply to a closely associated non-member such as Norway? And, what are the implications for the ability of Norwegian citizens to govern themselves through law and politics?

The EPISTO project examines and assesses the legitimacy of expert rule in modern democracies with a particular focus on the European Union and the European Commission’s expert groups.