University of Gothenburg
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Jörgen Westerståhl
Jörgen Westerståhl is often referred to as the “father of election research” in Sweden.
Photo: Göran Olofsson

Jörgen Westerståhl Lectures

Since 2014, the Jörgen Westerståhl Lectures have constituted a recurring lecture series on the role of democracy and politics in societal development.

Through this lecture series, the Department of Political Science has created a forum in which leading international scholars are invited to address current and socially significant issues. The lectures are free of charge and open to the public. They take place each December and are announced in our events calendar.

Jörgen Westerståhl

Jörgen Westerståhl was a pioneer in Swedish research on media and public opinion. He played a key role in modernising Swedish political science by orienting the discipline towards the study of political behaviour and quantitative methods. In 1954, he initiated the large-scale voter surveys that laid the foundation for the Swedish National Election Studies programme. Today, research on elections, public opinion, and democracy constitutes one of the University of Gothenburg’s areas of research strength, and Jörgen Westerståhl is often referred to as the “father of election research” in Sweden.

Between 1952 and 1982, Jörgen Westerståhl held the August Röhss Professorship in Political Science at the University of Gothenburg.

Through the Jörgen Westerståhl Lectures, we seek to honour and highlight his significant scholarly contributions.

Past Lectures