Young Nordic Police Research Network

The Young Nordic Police Research Network (YNPRN) seeks to strengthen the Nordic police and policing research, with an emphasis on similarities and differences within and between Nordic countries. 

About the network

Internationally, policing research is well established in the field of criminology and a range of national contexts has been examined. The Nordic context of plural policing, however, has not received the similar empirical attention. But the 2015 Young Nordic Police Research Network seminar marked an important starting point in exploring policing in the Nordic Countries in the 21st Century, particularly the question of Scandinavian exceptionalism within the field of policing.

Policing refers to many things, and there is disagreement about how to conceptualize policing. Much attention has been given to the sociology of the police, while others have broadened their scope and reoriented their attention to activities beyond, below and above state agencies. 

Moving beyond traditional state-centered understandings of policing, new theoretical conceptualization emerges (e.g. network, security and governance) and new empirical fields of study are unveiled. Altogether, researchers are presented with a rather intricate policing environment.

The YNPRN seek to encompasses these different perspectives. The focus on policing is broad and particular topics might include (but are not limited to) the relationships between policing activities and agencies, plural policing (non-state actors, privatization, governance, and networks), methodological challenges of police and policing studies, accountability and legitimacy in policing. 


Objectives

The Young Nordic Police Research Network aims to bring together early career researchers with a particular research interest in the field of police and policing in the Nordic countries. It is our ambition that the network will generate a creative and supportive academic environment where young researchers can freely exchange ideas, theoretical perspectives, and empirical analyses.  

By establishing a research community that cut across national boundaries, the goal is to enhance and strengthen the Nordic police and policing research, particularly by focusing on national similarities and differences with regard to policing. 

Given that police and policing research also cut across disciplinary boundaries, we hope that the network will stimulate to debates and discussions on policing issues from a variety of perspectives from the disciplines of criminology, political science, sociology, law, anthropology, and history. 

The YNPRN seeks to organize annual seminars and workshops.
 

Published Aug. 29, 2014 1:42 PM - Last modified Dec. 20, 2023 2:28 PM

Participants

  • Martin Nøkleberg Universitetet i Oslo
  • Julie Høivik Universitetet i Oslo
  • Synnøve Ugelvik Universitetet i Oslo
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