For Spotlight, Francois Picard welcomes Carl Henrik Knutsen, Professor of Political Science at the University of Oslo. He has been studying the fragility and resilience of democratic institutions for many years. The shock waves caused by the Epstein files hit a nerve in Norway. One of the Nordic countries is considered a model of transparency and democratic virtue,
Norway faces a reckoning over informal power networks, diplomatic opacity and the price of assuming that “low corruption” equals “no corruption”. From prominent figures like Terje Rød-Larsen to the surprising involvement of the royal family, this episode reveals not only individual connections but also systemic vulnerabilities.