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Much of his research examines how different groups of citizens perceive democracy and their representation within it, as well as how political conflicts unfold both inside and outside electoral politics. Three interconnected questions are therefore central to his work: how do citizens’ own understandings of democracy shape democratic support and actions; what contributes to experiences of democratic inclusion and exclusion; and what are the social roots and consequences of anti-institutionalism and political radicalization?

Inspired by works ranging from Pierre Bourdieu’s Distinction and Katherine Cramer’s The Politics of Resentment to Erasmus’s In Praise of Folly, Kjell seeks to understand the diverse perspectives of citizens and uncover their implications for citizens’ democratic support and actions. Reflecting his broad interests and interdisciplinary research profile, he has published on democratic support, political trust, populism, political representation, status conflicts, political norms, and political radicalization.

Recognizing the social aspect of democracy opens up fundamentally different ways of addressing the pressing challenges facing liberal democracies. Kjell is therefore strongly committed to creating tangible impact through boots-on-the-ground knowledge valorization and the co-creation of projects with societal actors.

We see again that the social sciences are difficult for social reasons: the sociologist is the one who goes out in the street to interview Mr. and Mrs. Anybody, listens to her, and tries to learn from her. This is what Socrates used to do, but the same who celebrate Socrates today are the last to understand and to accept this sort of renunciation of the role of the philosopher-king in the face of the “vulgar” that sociology demands.

Pierre Bourdieu (1992: 204) in An Invitation to Reflexive Sociology

If you ever get close to a human and human behaviour
Be ready to get confused

Björk (1993) in Human Behaviour