Jan 2013 – Oct 2017
The NECORE project addresses a wide range of questions related to resilience and identity formation, seen in light of – and in the wake of – the terror attacks in Oslo and on Utøya on 22 July 2011.
In confronting the attacks of 22 July, Norwegian society had to mobilize, negotiate, and re-think a number of core values. This was exemplified by Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg, in a speech made immediately after the attacks:
“We are still shaken by what hit us, but we will never give up our values. Our answer is more democracy, more openness, and more humanity.”
How can we understand the processes underway, relating to such values? NECORE seeks to pursue this question by investigating the following themes:
First of all: Who are “we”? Norway is populated by people with different political views, levels of education, languages, and ethnicities – and it was exactly this diverse Norway that the attacker intended to harm. How are the events of 22 July understood at an individual and a collective level in the Norwegian society?
Secondly: The events of 22 July were broadcast around the world. This widespread attention is arguably linked to the perception that the attacks were directed against the liberal and democratic values characterizing not only Norway, but also many other countries. So how have “Norwegian values” been understood throughout this massive press coverage? Many were struck by the dignity and relative calm of immediate reactions – but we also know that the fact that the perpetrator was a white Norwegian created a complex and conflict-ridden image of Norway.
Thirdly, how stable and strong is Norwegian society after the attacks? What values make it possible for us – both those directly touched by the incidents, and the rest of society – to move on? The concept of resilience is often used to describe a one’s ability to adapt to dramatic change and loss. Exchanges of views, opinions, and indeed emotions play a major role in that process. How were the values that we see as central to our society – such as democracy and openness – expressed and negotiated on the internet and in social media? What kind of resilience do these discussions reveal?
And finally: How do we address similar incidents in a way that is open, direct, and truthful, but at the same time not hurtful or unnecessarily disturbing? This brings us back to the world of media, with a special focus on press ethics. A thorough investigation of how various media managed – or not – to balance the norms of press ethics with the demand to spread news, will tell us much about our society’s ability to tackle such events in a dignified yet truthful way.
Please continue to the Project Summary page for NECORE's research questions and organization.
News from the NECORE project were sent semi-annually until the project ended in 2017.
In a new article published in Migration Studies, Rojan Tordhol Ezzati examines expressions of unity through value-talk after terrorism in Norway (2011) and France (2015). The analysis examines television news in the two countries and shows that the way national leaders talk about 'our values' can either underline unity or further underline conflict.
On the occasion of the 10-year commemoration of the Oslo and Utøya attacks in 2011, the Center for Research on Extremism (C-REX) at the University of Oslo is organizing a conference on the topic, especially highlighting research and knowledge related to the tragic events.
The NECORE newsletter highlights news from the project:
"Negotiating Values: Collective Identities and Resilience after 22/7".
On the five year anniversary of the 22 July terror attacks in Norway, PRIO researchers share their reflections.
Newsletter from PRIO's NECORE Team, working on identity and resilience after 22/7 - a sad anniversary is approaching.
Four years have passed since the biggest terror attacks on Norwegian soil during peacetime.Our research for the NECORE project focuses on discourses, negotiations, identity and resilience in Norwegian society after the terror attacks of 22 July 2011. In our research, we consider among other things the four important debates described below – and different ways of approaching them. In this blog post project leader Henrik Syse writes about some of these debates.
This text was first published in Norwegian in the the daily newspaper VG on 22 July 2015.
Members of the project Negotiating values: Collective identities and resilience after 22/7 (coordinated by PRIO) are organizing an international academic workshop on how societies negotiate and formulate values and identities after the shock of terror. The workshop will take place at the University of California, Los Angeles on 3-4 March 2014. Abstract submission deadline is 8 December 2013.
For more information, please see the Call for abstracts at the NECORE website .
The Research Council of Norway has just announced its funding from the SAMKUL programme. PRIO has received funding for a large-scale project on how Norwegian society has responded to the attacks of 22 July 2011.
The project will be led by Henrik Syse, who was interviewed by Aftenposten on the subject.
Journal Article in Migration Studies
Journal Article in Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies
Book Chapter in Norge etter 22. juli: Forhandlinger om verdier, identiteter og et motstandsdyktig samfunn
Edited Volume
Book Chapter in Norge etter 22. juli: Forhandlinger om verdier, identiteter og et motstandsdyktig samfunn
Book Chapter in Norge etter 22. juli: Forhandlinger om verdier, identiteter og et motstandsdyktig samfunn [Norway After July 22, 2011 Negotiating values, identities and a resilient society]
Book Chapter in Norge etter 22. juli: Forhandlinger om verdier, identiteter og et motstandsdyktig samfunn
Book Chapter in Norge etter 22. juli: Forhandlinger om verdier, identiteter og et motstandsdyktig samfunn
Book Chapter in Norge etter 22. juli: Forhandlinger om verdier, identiteter og et motstandsdyktig samfunn
PRIO Project Summary
Monograph
Journal Article in KI – Künstliche Intelligenz
Journal Article in Journalism Practice
Journal Article in Ethnicities
Book Chapter in Modernity: Unity in Diversity?
Book Chapter in The Routledge Handbook of International Resilience
Book Chapter in Moralske borgere: Refleksjoner over etikk og samfunn
Journal Article in Journalism
Journal Article in Nordic Journal of Human Rights
Popular Article in Dagsavisen
PhD Thesis
Book Chapter in The Solidarity of the Shaken
Monograph
Book Chapter in Recognition and Freedom: Axel Honneth's Political Thought
Popular Article in VG, 22.07.2015
Journal Article in Media, Culture & Society
Journal Article in Sosiologi i dag
Popular Article in Morgenbladet
Journal Article in The International Journal of Press/Politics
Popular Article in Aftenposten, 22. september
Popular Article in MRbloggen - Norges Menneskerettighetsblogg
Popular Article in Klassekampen
Popular Article in Aftenposten, 29 mai
Popular Article in Dagsavisen