Welcome to the podcast series Aspects of Democracy where we talk about potential key aspects of sustainable democracy. Researchers with experience from democracy research discuss aspects like equity, accountability and public participation - do we need these aspects and how can they help strengthen democracy?
The podcast series is brought to you by the political science unit at Linköping University and hosted by Helena Iacobaeus, PhD student in political science. For questions or suggestions on topics, e-mail helena.iacobaeus@liu.se.
Who gets what? – On meritocracy in local governance
In this episode, postdoctoral researcher Nora Anter joins the podcast to discuss her research on meritocracy. In her thesis, she examined whether promotions in Sweden’s local government bureaucracy are based solely on merit, or whether they are influenced by the groups to which people belong.
Which groups are disadvantaged in public-sector careers in Swedish local government today? Are there also advantages for certain groups? And what are the risks of recruitment based on personal connections? Join us to hear Nora reflect on why fair and equal treatment in recruitment is important for a well-functioning bureaucracy - and for a legitimate democracy more generally.
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The podcast series is brought to you by the political science unit at Linköping University and hosted by Helena Iacobaeus, PhD student in political science. For questions or suggestions on topics, e-mail helena.iacobaeus@liu.se.
Intro music credit: ZakharValaha from Pixabay.
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Listen to more podcasts from Linkoping University:
https://liu.se/en/podcast
4 May 2026
Courts as political actors
In this episode, Dr Karin Leijon, associate professor in political science, talks about courts as political actors. Based on her research, she addresses the influence the judicial power has on our every-day lives. Furthermore, what does the rule of law mean for citizens in terms of stability or transparency? Why is it important to separate legislative, executive, and judicial power, and how can this separation and the rule of law help safeguard democracy? Hear more about this in the May episode of Aspects of Democracy!
Karin has studied several different types of courts and, for example, written about public court defiance and about the relation between national courts and the Court of Justice of the European Union.
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The podcast series is brought to you by the political science unit at Linköping University and hosted by Helena Iacobaeus, PhD student in political science. For questions or suggestions on topics, e-mail helena.iacobaeus@liu.se.
Intro music credit: ZakharValaha from Pixabay.
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Listen to more podcasts from Linkoping University:
https://liu.se/en/podcast
1 Sept 2025
Politics and music
Thanks to the listeners’ questions, Mikael Rundqvist, associate professor in political science, joins Helena Iacobaeus in a vivid fireside chat on music and politics!
They bring up music that aims to change society for the better and music for expressing political visions or dystopias. Have meeting and bonding through music been a source of empowerment in freedom movements and democracy movements in history?
They talk about political music they grew up with, but they also address songs that might say something important about society today. Or have we already reached the end of musical history?
Is there a song list? Of course there is.
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The podcast series is brought to you by the political science unit at Linköping University and hosted by Helena Iacobaeus, PhD student in political science. For questions or suggestions on topics, e-mail helena.iacobaeus@liu.se.
Intro music credit: ZakharValaha from Pixabay.
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Listen to more podcasts from Linkoping University:
https://liu.se/en/podcast
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1 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 18 / 100
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YouTube
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Engagement
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