Active Citizenship in Culturally and Religiously Diverse Societies, 2018

The ACT project posed 3 overarching research questions: 1) What are the implications of diverse virtues and values on the motivations of citizens to give voice to societal concerns and take an active role in public affairs? 2) How do shifting understandings of 'society' and 'community' and shifting experiences of belonging impact the locations in which active citizenship practices take place? 3) Which tensions and contestations arise in debates on what it means to participate as an active citizen in society? ACT has been a collaboration between the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO), the Department of Philosophy at the University of Tromsø and the Department of Political Science and Government at Aarhus University.

The project team at PRIO completed the collection of empirical data on local, national and transnational active citizenship in neighborhoods in Oslo and Copenhagen; through life histories, semi-structured interviews, Focus Group Discussions and participant observation. A total of 112 (life history and semi-structured) interviews were conducted. The large majority (80) took place in Oslo. Six focus groups in Oslo and six in Copenhagen were completed. Besides the general data collection researchers at PRIO decided to focus on three 'cases' or 'arenas': Christian parish, Muslim youth initiative, Individuals with a refugee background. In Denmark, research was carried out on Muslim participation in Danish public debate.

For further information about ”Active Citizenship in Culturally and Religiously Diverse Societies, 2018”, please contact the principal investigator.