SIRIANNE DAHLUM

I am Professor in Political Science at the Department of Political Science at the University of Oslo. Previously, I’ve been a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard Kennedy School and the V-Dem Institute at Gothenburg University, and a Senior Researcher at the Peace Research Institute Oslo. During 2024-2025 I will spend my sabbatical at Oxford University and Nuffield College.

Much of my research tries to understand the conditions that facilitate stable democracy. I have a particular interest in citizens’ commitments to democracy and dictatorship, and when citizens will challenge political leaders and regimes through actions such as nonviolent and violent mass protest. My research can more broadly be organized around the following themes:

• Social norms and political attitudes

• Citizens support for democracy and authoritarianism

• Mass protest

• Education and political preferences/behavior

• Explanations and outcomes of democracy and dictatorship

I'm leading the project "When will citizens defend democracy? (DefDem)", funded by a Young Research Talent grant from Norwegian Research Council and an evaluation of the Norwegian democracy (“Tilstandsanalyse av det norske demokratiet (TiNDe)”), commissioned by the Norwegian government. I’m also involved in a range of other related research projects.

My work is featured in journals such as Journal of Politics, Comparative Political Studies and British Journal of Political Science and outlets such as the Washington Post's Monkey Cage Blog and BBC News. I'm a member of the Norwegian Academy for Young Researchers.