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. For instance, why and when citizens develop commitments to democracy and dictatorship, and when they will challenge political leaders and regimes through actions such as nonviolent and violent mass protest. Another recurrent theme in my published work is how education influences citizens' political preferences and participation in mass protest.

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, commissioned by the Norwegian Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development. 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.