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Emil Hus­ted

Associate Professor

Subjects
Organisation Digitalisation Democracy Politics Culture Sociology

Primary research areas

Polit­ic­al parties and so­cial move­ments
I study how polit­ic­al or­gan­iz­a­tions such as polit­ic­al parties and so­cial move­ments are or­gan­ized. This means that I ex­plore how they are gov­erned in­tern­ally, how they make de­cisions, what holds them to­geth­er, and how they co­ordin­ate activ­it­ies. I mostly fo­cus on ‘move­ment parties’ and have re­cently writ­ten a book about the Dan­ish party Al­tern­at­iv­et.
The or­gan­iz­a­tion of par­lia­ment
I study how par­lia­ments work in prac­tice. This means that I ex­plore par­lia­ments as work­places where politi­cians, party staff, civil ser­vants, and journ­al­ists come to­geth­er to gov­ern na­tion­al af­fairs. I mostly fo­cus on the Dan­ish par­lia­ment (Folketin­get) and have re­cently fin­ished a book about ex­per­i­ences of ali­en­a­tion and res­on­ance among those who work there.
Al­tern­at­ive modes of or­gan­iz­a­tion
I study how cer­tain or­gan­iz­a­tions seek to chal­lenge es­tab­lished ways of or­gan­iz­ing. This means that I ex­plore how or­gan­iz­a­tions such as polit­ic­al parties, so­cial move­ments, and work­er co­oper­at­ives ex­per­i­ment with new modes of gov­ernance and de­cision-mak­ing in an at­tempt to es­cape the con­straints of the dom­in­ant so­cio-eco­nom­ic or­der.

I ex­plore how polit­ics is or­gan­ized in prac­tice

My core research interest centers on the notion of 'political organization' in political parties, social movements, and activist networks. This means that I explore these political entities from an organizational point of view. Empirically, I focus on political parties such as Alternativet in Denmark and Podemos in Spain, but I have also conducted empirical analyses of other political phenomena such as Occupy Wall Street, the Trump administration, UBI initiatives, and online ‘prepper’ communities. At the moment, I am working on a research project about the Danish Parliament as a workplace. 

My research helps decision-makers and others interested in politics understand how organizational dynamics often play a key role in determining how society is governed. After all, organization is politics made durable.  

I disseminate my research through: 

Regular feature articles on Altinget.dk and other outlets 

Media appearances on TV and radio 

Interviews in newspapers and magazines 

Presentations in various political organizations (incl. Folketinget) 
 

Outside activities

CBS Ex­ec­ut­ive – teach­ing , 2022 - 2025

I usu­ally teach one day at CBS ex­ec­ut­ive each year