Everyday Democracy
In an era marked by democratic backsliding, rising polarization, and radicalization, the concept of everyday democracy offers a timely and necessary reimagining of how democratic life is practised and sustained. Rather than confining democracy to electoral procedures or institutional frameworks, this perspective emphasises the lived, relational, and often informal dimensions of democratic engagement. It asks not only what democracy is, but where it happens, how it is experienced, and who participates in shaping it.
Pernilla Jonsson Severson is Associate Professor (Docent) in Media and Communication Studies at Linnaeus University, Sweden. Her research explores the intersections of media development, participatory practices, and democratic values, with a particular focus on resilience against polarization and radicalization in contemporary society. She has published on feminist media analysis, digital participation, media innovation, and the influence of alternative and far-right media narratives. Jonsson Severson engages with digital and AI methods, both to create open educational resources and to examine gender and the media’s role in shaping contemporary, historical, and political movements. She is an experienced educator and supervisor and has contributed to leadership, educational development, and research ethics initiatives within academia.
Emma Ricknell is Senior Lecturer in Political Science at Linnaeus University, Sweden. Her research spans democratic resilience, political communication, and digital media, with a focus on online communities, disinformation, and legislative behavior. Her doctoral dissertation (2021) examined the evolution of the death penalty in the United States. She has held a postdoctoral position within the Linnaeus University knowledge environment A Questioned Democracy.