Finland: a democratic dictatorship
Have you ever heard of Santa’s elves initiating a bloody revolt against Santa’s authoritarian and nepotistic management? No. And yet, some elves enjoy certain priviledges, while the others do the job. But no, no protest. And for a simple reason: in Finland, we do not contest (arbitrary) decisions emanating from higher hierarchical levels, under the risk of serious reprisals, potentially on a national scale. I have had a hard time learning this almost implicit rule, firmly anchored in everyday life. At the beginning, there is hostile and harassing behavior from my direct superior ("N+1") towards me (2022-2023). The hostility culminated in the summer of 2023 where she has hidden an external funding granted for one of my scientific research projects (I am a research group leader at the University of Eastern Finland - UEF), followed by the destruction of this project, the falsification of a laboratory notebook and an attempt to export the project to the research group of ...