Tag: politics

Can we vaccinate the world?

Self-interest seems to be a dominant motivating factor for vaccine-rich countries to donate - and it gives modest hope about win-win global cooperation during pandemics.

Researcher: Denmark's world-record level of trust is helping us in the fight against corona

COMMENT: The vast majority of Danes are showing 'community spirit'. This is due, fundamentally, to the fact that we trust each other and the authorities.

Is China’s social credit system really the dystopian si-fi scenario that many fear?

OPINION: Many of the concerns around the social credit system are either inaccurate or one-sided.

Why do people talk politics online?

OPINION: Because they don’t care what you think

Is there a solution in sight for Catalonia?

OPNION: You may remember the fight for Catalan secession last autumn. But what happened next? And is there a solution on the cards between Catalonia and the Spanish government?

Red, white, and hot telephones: on hotlines and international diplomacy

The US and the Soviet Union had one. North and South Korea have just reopened theirs. Here’s a look at how hotlines have been used in modern diplomacy.

Claim to the Arctic rests on a shelf

Rocks from the Arctic seabed support the Kingdom of Denmark's claim to area north of Greenland.

Scientists: Three years left to reverse greenhouse gas emission trends

We have until 2020 to reverse the trend of greenhouse gas emissions to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement, say scientists. Missing the deadline will cause severe economic disruption.

Why immigration is such a sore subject for some

Fear of infection and disease could drive anti-immigrant sentiment, shows new research. It is a phenomenon that dates back to our early evolutionary history.

Scientists set to protest all around the Nordics

“If Niels Bohr was alive, he’d be there,” says one Danish scientist who is taking part in the March for Science, this Saturday 22nd of April. See our interactive map to find an event near you.

USA budget: Planned cuts to climate and satellite programs

A new budget "blueprint" released in the USA seeks to cut funding to climate and satellite programs. The developments have scientists on both sides of the Atlantic concerned.

Scientists: Europe is committed to Earth monitoring programs, even if the USA is not

Possible cuts to US climate and satellite programs have scientists on both sides of the Atlantic concerned. Europe is already talking a lead in the face of US uncertainty, but they should not be complacent, say scientists.

Backwater blues: how populism reveals rural resentment in the US and Europe

OPINION: The outcomes of recent elections, referendums, and polls in the US and Europe display a growing social distance between city and countryside that breeds resentment. But why is this?

Iceland's crowd-sourced constitution: hope for disillusioned voters everywhere

OPINION: In a time where trust in politics is at an all time low, Iceland takes a proactive approach that might serve as a lesson to the rest of the world.

Genes shape our social ideological attitudes

Genes influence our ideological orientation towards topics such as border controls and attitudes towards religious extremism, but not on economics, shows new research.

Sweden’s promise of a permanent home becomes migrant magnet

Asylum seekers have gone through the trauma of leaving their homes and families. The potential for a new stable life weighs strongly in their choices of where to seek safety.

Polished election campaigns fail to deliver the votes

Norway is the Nordic country with the lowest voter participation rate in municipal and county elections. A Swedish study indicates that political parties fail to raise their standings.

Your neighbour’s skin colour means less if your politics are aligned

Politics override ethnicity. A new study shows how we divide ourselves into groups, according to our political beliefs.

In politics, bad publicity is not better than no publicity

Constant presence in the media damages the government's approval ratings, shows new study.

Minimal corruption in Denmark began with the absolute monarchy

Denmark's path to becoming the world's least corrupt country was laid with the introduction of the absolute monarchy in the 17th century.

Genes influence political engagement

Your ideological position, and your participation in demonstrations and elections, are partly determined by your genes.

Denmark aims to be rid of fossil fuels by 2050

The Earth's fossil fuels are running out and the planet is heavily burdened by CO2 emission. The Danish government has addressed this by setting an ambitious goal to end dependency on fossil fuels.

Mapping social responsibility in science

Most scientists want their research to be valuable to society – they just disagree about the definition of what is valuable, new research reveals.

Researchers slam plans to criminalise sex work

Twenty-six Danish researchers have signed a protest letter against the European Parliament’s recommendations to criminalise sex work. Politicians ignore most of the research in this field, they argue. They agree with the 91 international researchers who argue against the EU proposal and instead urge politicians to listen to sex workers and their organisations recommending a decriminalisation.

Political colour is half genetic

New study provides definitive evidence that heritability plays a significant role in the formation of political ideology, regardless of how ideology is measured, the time period or population sampled.

Immigrants have a positive effect on native workers

New study disproves old economic theories about wages going down and native workers losing their jobs when immigrants take the low-salary jobs.

Young Egyptians armed themselves for revolution

The number of volunteers has exploded in Egypt in the past few years. The new trend of voluntary work among Muslim youths in Egypt has armed them with a stronger social and political consciousness and the courage to bring about change in their country.

Media influences our attitude towards the wealthy

Danish and Swedish media portray wealthy people in different ways. This has an effect on the difference in attitudes towards economic equality in the two countries.

Vikings held political summits across Europe

A new Viking exhibition reveals that the Vikings were not just marauding barbarians. They met with the European elite to exchange gifts, form alliances and to negotiate borders.

Hunger increases support for social welfare

If we are hungry when we’re asked about our attitude towards welfare, we are more likely to show support for a social welfare policy. This is a biological impulse which ensures survival, new research suggests.

Is the welfare state dying out?

OPINION: The economic crisis has given rise to numerous headlines about budget cuts, savings and changes in welfare states. The question is whether the traditional welfare state is dying out.

Danish youths shun political debate on Facebook

Young people ’like’ politicians on Facebook to gain information and to be part of a political platform. But they don’t want to appear too engaged.

We should only work 25 hours a week, argues professor

We should keep working until we’re 80. But we should only work 25 hours a week, argues the head of the new Danish Max Planck research centre.

Big differences in Finnish and Norwegian teacher education

Finnish schools are frequently ranked as the best in the world, well ahead of their Nordic neighbors, despite cultural similarities. But Finland's secret and Norway's scourge may lie in each country's educational policy making.

Strong states resisted democracy

There is a strong link between the age of states and the European influence they have been exposed to, says new study.

Your muscles determine your vote

Men with big muscles try harder to get their hands on tax money or to hold on to their own income, while physically weak men shy away from such conflicts, new study suggests.

Debt crisis is caused by corruption

There is a close link between the current EU debt crisis and the extensive corruption taking place in several southern European countries, according to new research on corruption.

How Nazis turn youths into extremists

Far right Nazi-like parties are using a new strategy for spreading their message to young people. New research takes a closer look.

Greenlanders strove for change

If Greenlandic culture has been ruined, Denmark is not to blame. Greenlanders wanted to have their opportunities expanded beyond their old sealing and whaling-based culture, argues Greenlandic historian.

Is Danish welfare facing a break-up?

OPINION: Denmark is now discussing a break with the philosophy of universalism, although social expenditure in the Nordic countries is no higher than in Germany or France. Social policy experience tells us that universal welfare schemes are the most redistributive and that welfare for the poor always ends up as ‘poor welfare’.

Denmark cannot apologise for slave trade

As the centennial for Denmark’s sale of the former Danish West Indies approaches, a grass root movement is putting pressure on Denmark to apologise for the slave trade that took place there. However, if Denmark wants to sustain a good relationship with the US, apologising is not an option, says a Danish researcher.