Jan Jämte

About Jan Jämte

Jan Jämte (Ph.D Politicial Science) is an associate professor in political science and senior lecturer in social studies at Örebro University. He has a background as a journalist and as a teacher in upper secondary school. 

Jämtes research runs along two main lines: 1) social movements, political activism, and the relationship between movement and institutionalized politics, and 2) processes to counteract racism and segregation. He has a particular interest in different forms of anti-racist work, both in the public sphere (education) as well as in civil society (social movements).

If you are interested in books, articles or other publications, click the publication tab below.

Ongoing research projects

1. How to counteract racism in education (Vetenskapsrådet, 2017-2020)
This project seeks to empirically investigate different anti-racists actions developed and used by teachers. Both policy and the law are clear that schools should counteract racism and promote anti-racist ideals. However, it is not clear how different forms of racism are manifested and when and how schools should interfere. The expected result of this project is to contribute with valuable knowledge about how to counteract racism in education, based on knowledge of how different kinds of anti-racist action can be understood and used in schools to address different forms of racism

2. Anti-racist contention in the Baltic sea region (Östersjöstiftelsen, 2017-2021)
This project investigates the interplay between anti-racist activists, politicians, and civil servants during significant campaigns of the anti-racist movement in four countries of the Baltic Sea region: Finland, Germany, Poland, and Sweden. The study’s main goal is to contribute to a better understanding of the relation between contemporary social movements and established actors within the political system. In particular, the project aims to describe the key factors that promote or discourage contacts and collaboration between activists and politicians/civil servants.

3. Collaboration and conflict in prevention of violent extremism in Sweden (Forte, 2017-2021)
The aim of this project is to study how Swedish local social services, police and schools jointly work to implement national recommendations to counteract youth engagement in “violent extremism”, and how officials perceive their roles in this endeavour.

4. During 2018-2021 Jämte is also part of a research project, funded by Örebro muncipaility and Örebro university, that studies the consequences of a municipal policy decision aimed at ending school segregation and create conditions for increased goal achievement and integration.

5. In 2020-2022, he is also working on a project, funded by Arbetsförmedlingen, which studies how course participants at the so-called “Snabbspåret” (the ”fast track”), an education for teachers with a teaching degree from abroad, have experienced and been influenced by their education.

6. In 2021-2024, Jämte will be leading the research project Challenging Segregation through Education, funded by the Swedish research council that studies and compares various local initiatives to challenge school segregation.

Previous projects

Anarchists in the East and West (Östersjöstiftelsen, 2014-2018)
The purpose of the research project is to make a comparative analysis of anarchist and autonomist movements in four countries in the Baltic region – Denmark, Germany, Poland and Russia – focusing on their role in contemporary politics. In what respects can one find differences and/or similarities in how these countries’ movements have developed? How can differences or similarities be explained by structural openings or closures in the polities in question, both regarding the movements’ interplay with the state and other political actors, and their ability to intervene in conflicts over the dominant meanings of democracy and politics.

Radicalization and counter-radicalization (MSB, 2017-2019)
In Swedish only.

Education and widening participation

 Jämte teaches within teacher education. He also supervise one PhD-student

During 2018-2020 (Sept), Jämte was the research leader for two post-doctoral students in the project "The Line Between Secondary and Higher Education”, that studied if and how the project Linje 14 contributed to broadened participation, and how students from non-academic backgrounds experienced their encounter with higher education.