Democracy & Law
Across the globe, democracy is challenged in ways that pose political and social threats – and that challenges the scholarly literature on democratic development. How should we study effects of law in authoritarian settings? What is the role of law in current processes of democratic backlash? And how does the backlash affect legal institutions? Law is used to defend democracy – and to undermine it, f. e. through anti-terror, NGO-, libel- and ”immorality” laws.
The Unit encompasses the research project ‘Breaking BAD: Understanding the Backlash Against Democracy in Africa’, which studies the consequences of unequal access to power and decision-making in developing countries. This unit also hosts the Breakfasts for Democracy (#bffDemocracy) seminars, where they discuss current events in world politics. Research Leader: Lise Rakner. Contact: info@lawtransform.no.
People
Publications
Democratic Rollback in Africa
May 8, 2019
There is a global trend of democratic retrenchment across the world, in both new and more established democracies. The African continent is part of the …
Den gode «fiende»: Fra flyktninger til seksuelle minoriteter
April 16, 2019
Hvorfor kjører Polens nasjonal-konservative regjeringsparti LHBT-motstand som viktigste valgkamptema foran Europaparlamentsvalget i mai? Under slagordet «Ikke rør barna» har regjeringspartiet «Lov og rettferdighetspartiet» (PiS) i …
Diktatorens lærebok: Kapittelet om Tanzania
November 14, 2018
Lise Rakner (2018) MENINGER: Det går utforbakke med demokratiet og rettsstaten i Tanzania, skriver professor Lise Rakner. Stormangrepet på alle som kunne tenkes å kritisere …
Do Donors Reduce Bilateral Aid to Countries with Restrictive NGO Laws? A Panel Study, 1993-2012
January 7, 2018
Foreign aid contributes to about 10% of gross domestic product of developing countries. To distribute aid in recipient countries, Western donors increasingly rely on non-governmental …
The Impact of Elections: The Case of Uganda
January 7, 2018
About the book: What makes autocratic regimes vulnerable? Why, in times of crisis, do some of these regimes break down while others weather the storm? …
Projects
Rethinking democracy & law
September 18, 2020
This project rethinks the way teaching is done in the field of Democracy & Law. It does so by building a new four-way collaboration …
LawTransform: Effects of Rights & Law
August 27, 2018
The project aims to consolidate the Centre on Law & Social Transformation (LawTransform) as a leading hub for scholarship on the use of law as …
Breaking BAD: Understanding the Backlash Against Democracy in Africa
July 4, 2017
Project team: Lise Rakner (Project leader), Leonardo Arriola, Siri Gloppen , Kendra Dupuy, Vibeke Wang, Fiona Shen-Bayh, Svein-Erik Helle (post-doctoral fellow) and Lisa-Marie Måseidvåg Selvik (PhD candidate). …
News
Tilbakeslag for rettsstaten og håp for 2019
January 11, 2019
Globalt ble 2018 et dårlig år for rettsstaten. I sin åpningstale som ny FN-kommisjoner for menneskerettigheter, uttrykte Michelle Bachelet i september 2018 fortvilelse over de …
Breaking BAD team participated in radio show
August 5, 2018
During the Breaking BAD project meeting in Accra, Ghana, Lise Rakner (Principal Investigator, CMI/Uni. of Bergen), Nicolas van de Walle (Cornell University), Leo Arriola (Uni. of …
Events
Gendered Autocratization. PhD Conference 21-22 March with open and streamed keynotes and roundtables.
February 8, 2024
Are you a PhD student and interested in the politics of gender and sexual and reproductive rights? This 2-day Conference-format PhD course is for you. …
Divine Intervention: The role of the Pentecostal Church in Democratic Backlash in Africa
November 25, 2020
Date, time: 4 December 2020, 16.00-17.00 Venue: Zoom To what extent has the Pentecostal church shaped politics in sub-Saharan states? To what extent is the …