Lise Rakner is a professor of political science at the University of Bergen and a researcher at the Christian Michelsen Institute (CMI) in Bergen. Rakner’s research interests covers a broad field of research, from democratization, with a focus on democratic backlash, human rights, party systems and elections, economic reform, taxation, to institutional change and international aid. She has performed a number of analyzes and studies for organizations such as DFID, SIDA; DFID, The World Bank and the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She also leads the research project “Breaking BAD: Understanding Backlash Against Democracy in Africa.”
 
Lise Rakner is one of Norway’s most published researchers on African politics, with extensive experience from researching and teaching in the region and with a large network of contacts. She has performed a number of analyzes and studies for organizations such as DFID, SIDA; DFID, the World Bank and the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She holds an adjunct position at the Chr. Michelsen Institute (CMI), Bergen.
 
She is the PI of the research project Breaking BAD: Understanding Backlash Against Democracy in Africa funded by the Research Council of Norway (FRIHUMSAM), see https://www.democraticbacklash.com/. She is also PI of Autocratization Dynamics: Innovations in Research-Embedded Learning (INPART 2021-2025) and she heads the Zambia country study of Political determinants of sexual and reproductive health in Africa, funded by the RCN, Globvac).