The Resilience of Liberal Democracy in Finland (RESLIDE) – Work package 6: Undemocratic public discourses
Funders
Work package 6: Undemocratic public discourses
WP6 focuses on public discourses related to democracy, aiming at analysing and identifying changes occurring in the democratic debate. The goal is to develop digital tools that enable the observation of discursive structures, shifts, transitions, and disruptions—even over short time spans. Deep learning algorithms and AI-based solutions are utilized in the development of these tools. The models are trained on a broad and multidimensional dataset related to the Finnish societal debate. During the project, the tools will be made openly accessible via a digital workbench.
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Time: Friday, 9 October 2026, 9:00–12:00
Venue: University of Eastern Finland, Joensuu
Over the past decade, democracy has faced growing challenges globally, with liberal democracy in particular experiencing gradual erosion. The University of Eastern Finland sub-project of the Resilience of Liberal Democracy in Finland (RESLIDE) consortium organises a workshop that brings together scholars to reflect on the resilience of liberal democracy and the pressures for change it currently faces.
The workshop is open, discussion-oriented, and multidisciplinary, supporting research and deepening understanding of the vitality of liberal democracy. We invite paper proposals from different disciplines and from researchers at all career stages. Presentations may adopt a contemporary or historical perspective and may be theoretical or strongly empirically grounded. Papers may be presented in Finnish, Swedish, or English.
The challenges and resilience of liberal democracy may be examined, for example, in relation to the following themes:
- how truth is negotiated and constituted in the digital age, and what risks and opportunities new technologies pose for the resilience of liberal democracy.
- how polarization, inequality, and the spread of disinformation undermine democratic societies, and what kinds of solutions might strengthen democratic resilience and justice in a world marked by multiple, overlapping crises.
- how changing work, skills, and expertise shape democratic resilience and adaptability, how public services should be organised, and how crises of public finances can be addressed in democratically sustainable ways.
- how individual and collective agency can foster hope, democratic resilience, and active citizenship from the perspective of ecological sustainability and environmental responsibility.
- how security, trust, and resilience form the foundation of sustainable and adaptive societies, and how trust and social cohesion can strengthen resilience.
- what role education, schooling, and culture play in reinforcing the resilience of liberal democracy in a polarised and digitalised society.
- how educational practices, institutions, and professional agency can promote democratic participation, trust, and a sustainable sense of future orientation in times of multiple crises.
There is no participation fee for the workshop
Leave your proposal for a presentation (maximum 3000 characters) by 17 August 2026 via this link.
Notification of acceptance will be sent by 1 September 2026.
More information about the RESLIDE project: www.reslide.fi
You may also contact [email protected]