Nationalism
Who belongs?
National identity, historical memory and the boundaries of political belonging.
Neo-Nationalism ↗Research / Ideas in context
The politics
of belonging.
How national identities, political narratives and democratic institutions shape one another.
Research focus
Six ways into
the political world.
01Nationalism02Populism03Conspiracy theories04European integration05Icelandic politics06Participatory democracy
Populism
Who speaks for the people?
How appeals to “the people” challenge elites and reshape political representation.
Populist parties · 2026 ↗Conspiracy theories
How does a story gain power?
The use of conspiratorial narratives as instruments of political mobilisation.
Weaponizing Conspiracy Theories ↗European integration
Where does sovereignty lie?
Iceland’s relationship with Europe, between national autonomy and shared institutions.
Iceland country report · 2026 ↗Icelandic politics
A small state, a wider lens.
Political change in Iceland, from the financial crisis to debates about Europe.
Iceland and the International Financial Crisis ↗Participatory democracy
How can citizens shape institutions?
Public participation and deliberation in constitutional reform.
Lessons from two island nations · 2023 ↗Inside the research / 2024
Threat.
Betrayal.
Protection.
Three-Step Rhetorical Model
of Conspiratorial Populism
An outside threat
Construct an external danger to the nation.
Betrayal within
Cast domestic elites as betraying the people or aiding that threat.
The protector
Present the leader as the defender of the “true people”.
01 / 03
An analytical model of political rhetoric, not an endorsement of these claims.
01
Nationalism & populism
Identity in a
changing world.
Bergmann’s research asks how national identity becomes a force in contemporary political mobilisation.
His work on the Nordic countries connects national sentiments to their historical and imperial contexts. Neo-Nationalism extends the lens to post-war Europe and the United States, following the development of nativist populism across successive periods of crisis.
02
Conspiracy theories & political communication
From narrative
to political strategy.
A connected body of research examines the relationship between populism and conspiracy theories.
In Weaponizing Conspiracy Theories, Bergmann analyses how political actors describe external threats, identify alleged enemies within, and present themselves as defenders of a threatened public. These are objects of academic analysis, rather than positions endorsed by the research.
Explore the three-step model ↑03
European integration & democracy
Small states.
Large questions.
Iceland offers a distinctive perspective on sovereignty, European integration and democratic participation.
The 2026 Iceland report examines the historical roots of Euroscepticism and the relationship between national autonomy and economic integration. It sits alongside research on the financial crisis, the Icesave dispute, and participatory constitution-making.
There is also a practical connection: Bergmann served on Iceland’s Constitutional Council in 2011. His later comparative writing considers the experiences of Iceland and Ireland in deliberative constitutional reform.
International collaborations
Research is a
shared endeavour.
EUPopLink
Linking euroscepticism and populism: causes and consequences. Bergmann’s 2026 country reports focus on Iceland and Denmark.
Management committee member↗
NORDREN
The Nordic Disinformation Resilience Network examines how Nordic societies prepare for and respond to disinformation. Funded by NordForsk and led at Lund University.
Network participant↗
OPEN
Research on rising nationalisms, changing geopolitics and their implications for openness in European higher education and research.
Management committee member↗
CONNOR
The Nordic Network of Conspiracy Theory Research connects researchers across the region. Its 2026 annual conference took place at the University of Tartu.
Executive board member · author’s profile↗
Project periods reflect the network or funder’s published dates. Sources and historical research networks ↗
Selected visiting appointments
Ideas travel.
Copenhagen
Visiting research fellow
2007Queen Mary, London
Visiting research fellow
2011–2012Ljubljana
Visiting professor
From 2015 · author’s CVNTNU, Trondheim
Visiting lecturer
2009 & 2011