image: Nils Holtug is the head of the newly established and interdisciplinary Centre for Advanced Migration Studies (AMIS): www.amis.ku.dk/. view more
Credit: Please credit University of Copenhagen
Researchers from the University of Copenhagen have received 14 of the 27 Sapere Aude grants awarded by the Danish Council for Independent Research this year. One of the recipients is associate professor of political philosophy Nils Holtug, who was granted 12 million kroner to fund a research project that will investigate which strategies work to improve solidarity, trust and compassion in society. The goal of the project is to influence debate about the topic.
Denmark has spent a lot of money since the 1970s trying to address challenges brought about by the increasing level of ethnic and religious diversity. Many initiatives have focussed on building a more cohesive society, but it remains to be seen which initiatives have been successful. This is precisely what Nils Holtug will address with his research project, 'Politics, diversity and social cohesion'.
"Many of the different political initiatives over the years, such as the strengthening of citizenship through citizenship tests, rest on particular concepts of community about which bonds between people are best used to realise politically desirable goals, like social cohesion. We want to try and better understand these different concepts of community, such as the arguments used to support them and how the different concepts affect trust and solidarity," explains Holtug, the head of the newly established and interdisciplinary Centre for Advanced Migration Studies (AMIS) at the University of Copenhagen.
Trust and solidarity create cohesion
Holtug and his fellow researchers will investigate how different political views affect social cohesion in order to provide us with a better understanding of how to handle the challenges society faces through ethnic and religious diversity. One of the project's goals is to strengthen and add more nuance to the Danish debate.
"It is widely understood that a population needs to have something in common in order to function as a stable and democratic welfare society. Different understandings of community offer different ideas of what is important for communities to share. Some use elements of nationalism, while others use liberalism, citizenship or multiculturalism. We will measure the significance of these different understandings of community and the way in which they are expressed through politics, opinion and everyday practice. We want to examine which values the political positions are based upon, and which arguments are used to support them. This is important in order to see if they really do end up promoting the solidarity and trust that is vital for the success of a nation," Holtug explains, adding:
"For example, many nationalists argue that trust and solidarity will increase if residents identify with the nation, leading them to recommend that politicians promote a national and cultural community. Liberals, on the other hand, often argue that we don't need to have very much in common. They focus, instead, on the importance of the political community and argue that as long as a population supports a few basic liberal rights regarding freedom and equality, then cohesion can be accomplished."
Multi-country comparison
Holtug and the other AMIS researchers plan to compare the situation in Denmark with Canada, France and the United Kingdom.
"These four countries have four different political approaches to the concept of diversity, all of which are based on very different understandings of community. That is why they are interesting comparison subjects, both because they demonstrate the wide variety in the understanding of community, and also for investigating whether the concept of community, expressed in the political dialogue in those countries, matches with those found in the population."
FACTS: 14 grant recipients from the University of Copenhagen
A total of 14 researchers from the University receive grants of varying sizes from the two Sapere Aude programs DFF-Advanced Grants and DFF-Starting Grants.
The grants are awarded by the Danish Council for Independent Research as a part of their career program which aims to give young researchers the opportunity to lead a research project extending up to four years. Read more about the Sapere Aude grants at the website of The Danish Agency for Science, Technology and Innovation: http://fivu.dk/en/research-and-innovation/funding-programmes-for-research-and-innovation/find-danish-funding-programmes/dff-sapere-aude?searchterm=sapere%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20aude
FACTS: Contact
Associate professor Nils Holtug
Centre for Advanced Migration Studies (AMIS)
Tel. + 45 35 32 88 81
Mail: nhol@hum.ku.dk
Communications officer Pernille Munch Toldam
Faculty of Humanities
Mobile: +45 29 92 41 69
Mail: pmunch@hum.ku.dk
News editor Anna Høxbro Bak
Mobile: + 45 22 64 03 55
Mail: bak@adm.ku.dk