Vanja Carlsson

Vanja Carlsson is a Senior Lecturer in Public Administration at the University of Gothenburg's School of Public Administration. She earned her PhD in Public Administration from the University of Gothenburg in February 2019 and has held her current position since 2021. She serves as a member of the editorial committee for the journal association Fronesis.

• University of Gothenburg, School of Public Administration
• Senior Lecturer in Public Administration (2021-present)
• PhD in Public Administration (2019)
• Member of Fronesis editorial committee

Dr. Carlsson's research focuses on the intersection of artificial intelligence, digitalization, and democracy, with particular emphasis on how automated systems impact public administration and gender equality. Her work critically examines governance structures, bureaucracy, and ideology theory within the context of EU social policy and gender equality frameworks. She investigates how different administrative forms—bureaucratic versus network-oriented governance—affect the implementation of political goals, particularly regarding gender equality in European Social Fund programs.

Her recent publications reveal a strong focus on the political dimensions of automated governance systems, with particular attention to issues of trustworthiness, legitimacy, and depoliticization in AI applications within the public sector. Her research demonstrates how AI systems transform policy processes from political debates into technical ethical considerations.

• Swedish Research Council funding (2023-2026) for project on automated control systems
• Riksbankens Jubileumsfond funding (2021-2024) for gender perspectives in research quality
• Wallenberg WASP-HS funding for multiple AI research clusters
• Previous postdoctoral work on automated decision-making at Karlstad University

Dr. Carlsson teaches courses in democratic theory, implementation and evaluation, public review, digitalization in public administration, multi-level control, and administration and gender equality work. She actively supervises bachelor's and master's theses, contributing to the next generation of public administration scholars.