- E-mailragnhild.muriaas@uib.no
- Phone+47 55 58 94 48+47 965 14 015
- Visitor AddressChristies gate 175007 BergenRoom315
- Postal AddressPostboks 78025020 Bergen
Ragnhild Louise Muriaas is a Professor of Political Science. Her research focus is the interaction between gender and politics, with a particular focus on representation, political careers and political financing. She is currently the project leader of a ERC project (consolidator) titled SUCCESS Gender-Gap in Political Endurance: a novel political inclusion theory (2021-2026). In the first part of the project, data on different aspects of gender and political endurance will be collected in France, Norway and the United States.
From August 2022 to July 2023 she is a visiting scholar at Science Po (Paris) at LIEPP (Fall) and Centre for European Studies and Comparative Politics, CEE (Spring).
Her work has appeared in such journals as the American Political Science Review, Comparative Political Studies, African Affairs, Political Studies and International Political Science Review. Professor Muriaas is the editor of Gendered Electoral Financing: Money, Power and Representation in Comparative Perspective (2020) - with Vibeke Wang and Rainbow Murray and she has written the book Manipulating Political Decentralization: Africa's Inclusive Autocrats (2018) with Lovise Aalen.
From 2017 to 2021 she was research dean at the Faculty of Social Sciences and from 2018 to 2022 she was the leader of the board at the Centre for Women's and Gender Research (SKOK) at the University of Bergen.
Popular presentations of her work:
Washington Post - Monkey Cage: Does funding help encourage women to run for legislative office? with Amy Mazur and Season Hoard
Democracy in Africa: What can African parties do to address gendered funding inequalities? med Vibeke Wang og Gretchen Bauer
UCL The Constitution Unit: Levelling the playing field: gendered electoral financing of women candidates with Rainbow Murray and Vibeke Wang
Washington Post - Monkey Cage: Why campaigns to stop child marriage can backfire with Lindsay Benstead, Vibeke Wang, Boniface Dulani and Lise Rakner
The Money Talks: Women and Elections in Malawi film, can be freely downloaded, and you can read an interview about the making of the short film here.
Spring 2022:
AORG104 Politisk teori og styreformer (Political Theory and Regimes)
Spring 2018 and 2019 (with Jana Belschner):
SAMPOL221 The Politics of Gender in a Global Perspective
Autumn 2016:
EUR 101 Introduction to European history and politics
Spring 2016:
SAMPOL 327 The Politics of Gender: Citizenship, Representation and Development
Autumn 2015:
SAMPOL 100 Introduction to Comparative Politics
Spring 2015:
SAMPOL321 Political Parties in Post-Conflict States
Books:
Ragnhild L. Muriaas, Vibeke Wang and Rainbow Murray (eds) (2019). Gendered Electoral Financing: Money, Power and Representation in Comparative Perspective. Routledge.
Lovise Aalen and Ragnhild Muriaas (2018). Manipulating Political Decentralization: Africa's Inclusive Autocrats. Routledge.
Hilde Danielsen, Kari Jegerstedt, Ragnhild L. Muriaas and Brita Ytre-Arne (eds) (2016). Gendered Citizenship and the Politics of Representation, Palgrave Macmillian.
Muriaas, Ragnhild L. 2011. Afrikanske utfordringer: En innføring i afrikansk politikk [African Challenges: An Introduction to African Politics]. Høyskoleforlaget.
Articles:
Lindsay Benstead, Ragnhild Muriaas and Vibeke Wang (2022). Explaining Backlash: Social Hierarchy and Men's Rejection of Women’s Rights Reforms. Social Politics. FirstView.
Ragnhild Muriaas, Amy Mazur and Season Hoard (2022). Payments and Penalties for Democracy: Gendered Electoral Financing in Action Worldwide. American Political Science Review, 116 (2): 502-515.
Rainbow Murray, Ragnhild Muriaas and Vibeke Wang (2021, OnlineFirst). Editorial Introduction: Gender and Political Financing. International Political Science Review.
Vibeke Wang, Ragnhild Muriaas and Gretchen Bauer (2021, OnlineFirst). Funding Demands and Gender in Political Recruitment: What Parties do in Cabo Verde and Ghana. International Political Science Review.
Chiweza, Asiyati Lorraine, Happy Kayuni, and Ragnhild Louise Muriaas (2021) Understanding Handouts in Candidate Selection: Challenging Party Authority in Malawi. African Affairs, 120(481): 569-589.
Vibeke Wang, Ragnhild L. Muriaas and Yvette Peters (2021). Affirmative Action Measures and Electoral Candidates’ Positioning in Zambia. Journal of Modern African Studies, 59(4): 507-533.
Amanda L. Robinson, Amanda Clayton, Martha Johnsen and Ragnhild L. Muriaas (2020). (How) Do Voters Discriminate Against Women Candidates? Experimental and Qualitative Evidence from Malawi. Comparative Political Studies, 53(3-4): 601-630.
Vibeke Wang and Ragnhild L. Muriaas (2019). Candidate selection and informal soft quotas for women: gender imbalance in political recruitment in Zambia. Politics, Groups, and Identitites, 7(2): 401-411.
Muriaas, Ragnhild L., Vibeke Wang, Lindsay Benstead, Boniface Dulani and Lise Rakner (2019). 'Why the Gender of Traditional Authorities Matters: Intersectionality and Women’s Rights Advocacy in Malawi?' Comparative Political Studies, 52(12): 1881-1924.
Cappelen, Cornelius and Ragnhild L. Muriaas (2018). Polish labour migrants and undeclared work in Norway. Scandinavian Political Studies, 41 (2): 167-187.
Muriaas, Ragnhild L., Liv Tønnessen and Vibeke Wang (2018). Counter-mobilization against child marriage reform in Africa. Political Studies, 66 (4): 851–868.
Aalen, Lovise and Ragnhild L. Muriaas (2017) Power Calculations and Political Decentralization in African Post-Conflict States, International Political Science Review, 38 (1), 56-69.
Muriaas, Ragnhild, Lise Rakner and Ingvild Aagedal Skage (2016) Political Capital of Ruling Parties after Regime Change: Contrasting Successful Insurgencies to Peaceful Pro-democracy Movements, Civil Wars, 18 (2): 175-191.
Muriaas, Ragnhild L. and Lars Svaasand (2015) Opposition Parties and the Decentralization Process in South Africa and Zambia. Commonwealth and Comparative Politics, 53 (4).
Kayuni, Happy and Ragnhild L. Muriaas. 2014. ‘Alternatives to gender quotas: electoral financing of women candidates in Malawi’, Representation, 50 (3): 393-404.
Muriaas, Ragnhild L, Liv Tønnessen and Vibeke Wang. 2013. 'Exploring the Relationship between Democratization and Quota Policies in Africa', Women Studies International Forum, 41: 89-93.
Muriaas, Ragnhild and Happy Kayuni. 2013. 'The Reversed Contagion Effect: Explaining The Unevenness of Women’s Representation across South African Municipalities', Women's Studies International Forum, 41: 150-9.
Muriaas, Ragnhild L. 2013. 'Party Affiliation in New Democracies: Local reactions to the split of the ruling party in Malawi', African Journal of Political Science and International Relations, 7 (4): 190-9.
Muriaas, Ragnhild L. and Vibeke Wang. 2012. Executive dominance and the politics of quota representation in Uganda, Journal of Modern African Studies, 50 (2): 309-38.
Mpesi, Andrew M, and Ragnhild L. Muriaas. 2012. 'Food security as a political issue: the 2009 elections in Malawi', Journal of Contemporary African Studies, 30 (3): 377-93.
Muriaas, Ragnhild L. 2011. ‘ANC & Power Concentration in South Africa: does local democracy allow for power-sharing?’ Special Issue on Opposition in Africa, Democratization, 18 (5), 1067-86.
Muriaas, Ragnhild L. 2011. ‘Traditional institutions and dencentralization: A typology of co-existence in Sub-Saharan Africa’, Forum for Development Studies, March, 38 (1), 87-107.
Muriaas, Ragnhild L. 2009. ‘Local Perspectives on the 'neutrality' of traditional authorities in Malawi, South Africa and Uganda’, Commonwealth & Comparative Politics, 47 (1), 28-51.
Muriaas, Ragnhild L. 2009. ‘Reintroducing a Local-Level Multiparty System in Uganda: Why be in opposition?’ Government and Opposition, 44 (1), 91-112.
Muriaas, Ragnhild L. 2009. ‘ANC og maktkonsentrasjon i Sør-Afrika: Åpner lokaldemokratiet for maktdeling?’, Politica, 41 (3), 283-99.
Chapters in books:
Lovise Aalen, Aslak Orre, and Ragnhild Muriaas (2022). Post-War Ruling Parties and their Youth Wings: How Old Rebels handle the African Millennials. In John Ishiyama and Gyda Sindre (eds.) The Effects of Rebel Parties on Governance, Democracy and Stability after Civil WarsFrom Guns to Governing. London: Routledge, pp. 157-174.
Martha C. Johnson, Ragnhild Muriaas, Amanda Clayton, and Amanda Lea Robinson (2021). Deeper Decentralization, Fewer Women? Decentralization and Women's Candidacies for Local Office in Benin and Malawi. In Leonardo Arriola, Martha Johnson, and Melanie Phillips (eds) Women and Power in Africa: Aspiring, Campaigning and Governing. Ch. 4. p. 85-113. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Ragnhild Muriaas (2020) Gendered Electoral Financing: Two Approaches Toward Funding as an Affirmative Action Measure. In Jamil, I., Aminuzzaman, S.M., Lasna Kabir, S., Haque, M.M. (Eds.) Gender Mainstreaming in Politics, Administration and Development in South Asia, Palgrave.
Muriaas, Ragnhild, Vibeke Wang and Rainbow Murray (2019). Introduction: Introducing the Concept of Gendered Electoral Financing, pp. 1-24. In Muriaas, Wang and Murray (eds.) Gendered Electoral Financing: Money, Power and Representation in Comparative Politics. New York: Routledge.
Borges, Aleida, Ragnhild Muriaas and Vibeke Wang (2019). Cabo Verde: Legislated Candidates Quotas with Reward for Compliance in Cabo Verde: Victory for no one? pp. 74-92. In Muriaas, Wang and Murray (eds.) Gendered Electoral Financing: Money, Power and Representation in Comparative Politics. New York: Routledge.
Muriaas, Ragnhild and Amy G. Mazur (2019). Conclusion: Does Money Talk? An initial Comparative Analysis, pp. 154-174. In Muriaas, Wang and Murray (eds) Gendered Electoral Financing: Money, Power and Representation in Comparative Politics. New York: Routledge.
Hilde Danielsen, Kari Jegerstedt, Ragnhild L. Muriaas and Brita Ytre-Arne (2016). ‘Introduction’. In Hilde Danielsen et al. (eds) Gendered Citizenship and the Politics of Representation, Palgrave Macmillian.
Ragnhild L. Muriaas, Liv Tønnesen and Vibeke Wang (2016). Substantive Representation: From Timing to Framing of Family Law Reform in Morocco, South Africa and Uganda. In Hilde Danielsen et al. (eds) Gendered Citizenship and the Politics of Representation, Palgrave Macmillian.
Muriaas, Ragnhild L. 2015. 'The Quality and Stability of Subnational Elections in Africa: A Methodological and Conceptual Tool', ch. 5. In Anthony Spanakos and Francisco Panizza (eds.) Conceptualizing Comparative Politics, New York, NY: Routledge.
Hussein, Mustafa K. and Ragnhild L. Muriaas. 2013. 'Traditional Authorities' in Nandini Patel and Lars Svåsand (eds) Government and Politics in Malawi, second edition. Lilongwe, Malawi: Capital Printing Press.
Muriaas, Ragnhild L. 2013. 'The ANC and power concentration in South Africa: does local democracy allow for power-sharing?' pp. 12-31. In Emil Uddhammer, Elliott Green and Johanna Söderström (eds.) Political Opposition and Democracy in Sub-Saharan Africa, New York, NY: Routledge. (reprint).
Muriaas, Ragnhild L. 2005. 'Dilemmas Connected to Recognising Customary Law and Courts in South Africa' in Lone Lindholt and Sten Schaumburg-Müller (eds.) Human Rights and Local/living law in Human Rights in Development, Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill Academic Publishing.
Book Reviews
Ragnhild L. Muriaas (2019). The political over-representation of the rich in the USA. European Political Science, online first.
Ragnhild L. Muriaas (2013). 'Sexuality and Gender Politics in Mozambique: Rethinking Gender in Africa' by Signe Arnfred, Tidsskrift for kjønnsforskning, January, 88-92.
Working Papers:
Lindsay J. Benstead, Ragnhild L. Muriaas, and Vibeke Wang (2018). 'When Do Donor Endorsements Help or Hurt? Policy Advocacy and Men’s Interests in Malawi'. Working Paper, No.16, The program on Governance and Local Development (GLD). Yale and University of Gothenburg.
Ragnhild Muriaas, Vibeke Wang, LIndsay J. Benstead, Boniface Dulani and Lise Rakner (2017). 'It Takes a female Chief: Gender and Effective Politicy Advocacy in Malawi', Working Paper, No.11, The program on Governance and Local Development (GLD). Yale and University of Gothenburg.
Reports:
The Local Governance Performance Index (LGPI) in Malawi: Selected FIndings on Gender (2017). Report prepared by Lindsay Benstead, Boniface Dulani, Ragnhild L. MUriaas, Lise Rakner and Vibeke Wang. GLD report. The program on Governance and Local Development (GLD). Yale and University of Gothenburg.
Dissertations:
Muriaas, Ragnhild L. 2008. Affection and Defection: Local Perspectives on the Pull Towards the Government Party in Malawi, South Africa and Uganda, PhD Dissertation, Department of Comparative Politics, University of Bergen.
Muriaas, Ragnhild L. 2002. Two Bulls in a Kraal - Recognising cultural difference in post-Apartheid South Africa, hovedfagsoppgave (M.Phil. Thesis), Department of Comparative Politics, University of Bergen.
- (2023). Stort forskningsprosjekt: – Mannlige politikere kommer seg raskere inn i det gode selskap.
- (2023). Post-war ruling parties and their youth wings: How old rebels handle the African millennials.
- (2023). Kvinnehat: - Du får melding om at noen vil at du skal voldtas.
- (2023). Her vil «ingen» kvinner stå på listen til Høyre: – De vil ikke utsette seg for hets.
- (2023). Hannah (20) og Benedikte (17) skal konkurrere om velgerne på Jæren: – Har fått høre at jeg tar litt mye plass.
- (2023). Folkets parti søkjer politikarar på Finn: – Får mykje gratis merksemd.
- (2023). Explaining Backlash: Social Hierarchy and Men’s Rejection of Women’s Rights Reforms. Social Politics: International Studies in Gender, State and Society.
- (2023). Avenues for Youth Representation in Uganda. Working Paper - Chr. Michelsen Institute.
- (2022). US midterm elections: What Congress can learn from country with youngest lawmakers.
- (2022). The Gender-Wealth Gap In Politics And How To Fix It.
- (2022). PARLIAMENTARY STAYERS IN WESTERN DEMOCRACIES: MIND THE GENDER-GAP IN POLITICAL ENDURANCE.
- (2022). Old men and the midterm elections in the US. Why Norway is different with Jane Garvey and Fi Glover.
- (2022). Kvinner med små barn mister interessen for politikk.
- (2022). Kan vi håpe på en lys fremtid?
- (2022). Fekk fleire kvinner inn i politikken med middagsselskap.
- (2022). Fekk fleire kvinner inn i politikken.
- (2021). What can African parties do to address gendered funding inequalities?
- (2021). Understanding handouts in candidate selection: Challenging party authority in Malawi. African Affairs. 569-589.
- (2021). Payments and Penalties for Democracy: Gendered Electoral Financing in Action Worldwide. American Political Science Review.
- (2021). Kvinnene styrer i Kongsvinger.
- (2021). Hvorfor holder ikke kvinnene ut (i politikken)?
- (2021). Funding demands and gender in political recruitment: What parties do in Cabo Verde and Ghana. International Political Science Review.
- (2021). Editorial introduction: Gender and political financing. International Political Science Review.
- (2021). Does funding help encourage women to run for legislative office? The Washington Post.
- (2021). Deeper Decentralization, Fewer Women? Decentralization and Women's Candidacies for Local Office in Benin and Malawi.
- (2021). Cómo fue la escandalosa reelección de uno de los dictadores más longevos del mundo.
- (2021). Afrikas fremtid: Hvorfor er politikeres kjønn så viktig?
- (2021). Affirmative action measures and electoral candidates’ positioning in Zambia. The Journal of Modern African Studies. 507-533.
- (2020). Skal finne formelen for politisk suksess.
- (2020). Sekkingstad til NRK Vestland: - Eg fekk kommentarar på om eg som ung kvinne kunne klare dette .
- (2020). Money Talks: Women and Elections in Malawi.
- (2020). Legislated Candidates Quotas with Reward for Compliance in Cabo Verde: Victory for no one? 18 pages.
- (2020). Introduction: Introducing the Concept of Gendered Electoral Financing. 24 pages.
- (2020). Gendered Electoral Financing: Two Approaches Toward Funding as an Affirmative Action Measure. 17 pages.
- (2020). Gendered Electoral Financing: Money, Power and Representation in Comparative Perspective. Routledge.
- (2020). Forskere tror kvinner gir seg tidligere i politikken enn menn – nå vil de finne ut hvorfor.
- (2020). Formelen for hva som gir utholdenhet i politikken.
- (2020). Do Big (Wo)Men Always Win? Candidate wealth’s impact on voter expectations .
- (2020). Conclusion: Does Money Talk? An initial Comparative Analysis. 20 pages.
- (2019). The political over-representation of the rich in the USA. European Political Science.
- (2019). Los nórdicos, pioneros en la igualdad de género en política.
- (2019). Levelling the playing field: gendered electoral financing of women candidates -The Constitution Unit Blog.
- (2019). Internasjonalt fokus på de viktigste politiske begivenheter i 2018. .
- (2019). EGAP Brief 62: Evaluating Discrimination Against Women Candidates in Malawi.
- (2019). Candidate selection and informal soft quotas for women: gender imbalance in political recruitment in Zambia. Politics, Groups, and Identities. 401-411.
- (2019). (How) Do Voters Discriminate Against Women Candidates? Experimental and Qualitative Evidence From Malawi . Comparative Political Studies. 1-30.
- (2018). Why the Gender of Traditional Authorities Matters: Intersectionality and Women’s Rights Advocacy in Malawi. Comparative Political Studies. 1-44.
- (2018). Why some African Autocrats love Political Decentralization. Democracy in Africa.
- (2018). Why campaigns to stop child marriage can backfire. The Washington Post.
- (2018). Traditional Authority, Gender and Political Engagement in Malawi.
- (2018). Time and Money in Women's Political Recruitment in Cape Verde and Ghana.
- (2018). Representasjon av unge på Stortinget.
- (2018). Polish Labour Migrants and Undeclared Work in Norway. Scandinavian Political Studies. 167-187.
- (2018). Manipulating Political Decentralization: Africa's Inclusive Autocrats.
- (2018). Likestilling og økonomisk utvikling.
- (2018). Gender, Party Primaries, and the Cost of Elections in Malawi.
- (2018). En av verdens yngste nasjonalforsamlinger.
- (2018). Democracy, gender equality, and economic development.
- (2018). DO DONOR ENDORSEMENTS HELP OR HURT? USC Center on Public Diplomacy.
- (2018). Counter-Mobilization against Child Marriage Reform in Africa. Political Studies. 851-868.
- (2018). CET Klimasnakk: Flykvoter - er det realistisk og hva må til? Live- innspilling av podcast 13.11.18 med stortingsrepresentant Ketil Kjenseth.
- (2017). kvinner, politikk og samfunn i Norge.
- (2017). When Do Donor Endorsements Help or Hurt? A Survey Experiment on Quotas and Land Reform in Malawi .
- (2017). When Do Donor Endorsements Help or Hurt? A Survey Experiment on Quotas and Land Reform in Malawi.
- (2017). Unpacking the Effect of Candidate Selection on Adopting Gender Quotas: Resisting Change in Zambia .
- (2017). The Personal Costs Of Campaigning: Electoral Systems And Public Funding In Ghana And Cape Verde .
- (2017). The Personal Costs Of Campaiging: Electoral Systems And Public Funding In Ghana And Cape Verde .
- (2017). The Local Governance Performance Index (LGPI) in Malawi: Selected Findings on Gender. .
- (2017). Sultkatastrofe i Afrika.
- (2017). Power calculations and political decentralisation in African post-conflict states. International Political Science Review. 56-69.
- (2017). Mobilisering mot barneekteskapsreform i Afrika - Blogg Sakutuelt.
- (2017). How Voters Evaluate Candidate Gender: Experimental Evidence from Malawi.
- (2017). GENDERED ELECTORAL FINANCING IN DEMOCRATIC AND DEMOCRATIZING STATES (Key note).
- (2017). Finance for Women in Politics.
- (2017). Extending Gender Quotas to Social Institutions: Survey Experiments of Representatives and Citizens in Norway.
- (2017). Difor har me tre kvinner på topp i regjeringa, medan USA aldri har hatt ein kvinneleg president.
- (2016). Why tradition is distinct from religion: Explaining variation in counter-mobilization against child marriage reform in Africa.
- (2016). Why does the impact of western donor endorsements depend on the type of women's rights? Experimental evidence from Malawi.
- (2016). Using traditional leaders to end child marriage: Evidence from a survey experiment in Malawi.
- (2016). Using traditional leaders to end child marriage: Evidence from a survey experiment in Malawi.
- (2016). The urban poor as citizens and clients. Enacting political agency through political parties and social movements in Kenya and Zambia.
- (2016). Substantive Representation: From Timing to Framing of Family Law Reform in Morocco, South Africa and Uganda. 25 pages.
- (2016). Spent før dagens valg i Uganda.
- (2016). Redefining the Traditional and Religious State: Framing Child Marriage Reform in Sudan and Zambia.
- (2016). Pynt og prakt, men mest makt.
- (2016). Political capital of ruling parties after regime change: contrasting successful insurgencies to peaceful pro-democracy movements. Civil Wars. 175-191.
- (2016). Nordic model of aiding dysfunctional families in childcare. An analysis of the perception of the situation of Poles and their families in Norway / Nordycki model wspierania rodzin niewydolnych w opiece nad dzieckiem. Analiza sytuacji Polaków oraz ich rodzin w Norewgii. Research Papers of Wroclaw University of Economics. 116-133.
- (2016). Money Talks: Gendered Electoral Financing in Malawi .
- (2016). Money Talks: Gender Electoral Financing in Malawi and Zambia.
- (2016). Hvis kvinner styrte verden – Du verden!
- (2016). Gendered Citizenship: The Politics of Representation. 1-14.
- (2016). Gendered Citizenship and the Politics of Representation. Palgrave Macmillan.
- (2016). Dette blir de viktigste sakene i 2016.
- (2016). Bistand til kvinnebevegelser i Afrika virker. Bistandsaktuelt.
- (2015). The Quality And Stability Of Subnational Elections In Africa: A Methodological and Conceptual Tool. 22 pages.
- (2015). Redefining the Traditional and Religious State: Framing Child Marriage Reform in Sudan and Zambia.
- (2015). Power calculations and territorial politics in African post-conflict states: The effects of winning.
- (2015). Opposition parties and the decentralisation process in South Africa and Zambia. Commonwealth and Comparative Politics. 475-496.
- (2015). Opposition Parties and the Decentralization Process in South Africa and Zambia.
- (2015). Intervju om Nigerias utfordringer i forbindelse med et 'Frokost med Frank' arrangement.
- (2015). Hvorfor jobber noen arbeidsinnvandrere svart?
- (2015). Hvem er Boko Haram?
- (2015). Frokost med Frank: Nigerias utfordringer.
- (2015). Explaining Variation in Government Parties’ Willingness to Build Party Organization in Africa.
- (2015). Alternatives to Gender Quotas: Electoral Financing of Women Candidates In Malawi.
- (2014). Nelson Mandela 24 år i frihet.
- (2014). Methodological and Conceptual Tools for Comparing Subnational Elections: Applied on nine Democraticing States in Africa.
- (2014). Alternatives to gender quotas : electoral financing of women candidates in Malawi. Representation. 393-404.
- (2013). Å være sin mann lydig. Bergens Tidende.
- (2013). Variation in Party Mobilization through Decentralization in Africa: The Legacy of Regime Transitions.
- (2013). Traditional Authorities. 19 pages.
- (2013). The reversed contagion effect: Explaining the unevenness of women's representation across South African municipalities. Women's Studies: International Forum. 150-159.
- (2013). The ANC and power concentration in South Africa: does local democracy allow for power-sharing? 19 pages.
- (2013). Signe Arnfred: Sexuality and Gender Politics in Mozambique - Rethinking Gender in Africa. Tidsskrift for kjønnsforskning. 92-96.
- (2013). Party affiliation in new democracies: Local reactions to the split of the ruling party in Malawi. African Journal of Political Science and International Relations. 190-199.
- (2013). Party Adaptions to Municipal Elections in Post-transitional Regimes: Exploring Democratic Decentralization in Zambia and South Africa.
- (2013). Ikonet Mandela. Bergens Tidende.
- (2013). Gatekeepers under Pressure: Women's Representation and Party Competition in Malawi and the Western Cape Municipalities in South Africa.
- (2013). Exploring the relationship between democratization and quota policies in Africa. Women's Studies: International Forum. 89-93.
- (2013). Alternatives to gender quotas? The public funding of women candidates experiment in the 2009 Malawian elections in comparison.
- (2013). Afrika: Kvoter gjev kvinneeksplosjon.
- (2013). Africa's women rise on quota.
- (2012). Studying Moving Targets: Advices for Collecting Data for Multiple Case Studies in Hybrid Regimes.
- (2012). Reaching SADC's 50-50 target on women's representation: Fast track South Africa compared with the incremental track in Malawi.
- (2012). Nigeria: En stormakt på leirføtter.
- (2012). Lik rett til jord er fortsatt en fjern drøm. Bergens Tidende.
- (2012). Land Policies in South Africa: Before, under and after Mandela.
- (2012). Institutionalizing Local Elections in Eastern and Southern Africa: Stability, Participation, Competition and Legitimacy.
- (2012). Food security as a political issue: the 2009 elections in Malawi. Journal of Contemporary African Studies. 377-393.
- (2012). Executive dominance and the politics of quota representation in Uganda. The Journal of Modern African Studies. 309-338.
- (2012). Consolidating dominance: decentralisation in Africa revisited.
- (2012). Avdekker Sør-Afrikas bakside.
- (2011). Zuma i maktstrid med unge radikale.
- (2011). Traditional Institutions and Decentralisation: A Typology of Co-Existence in Sub-Saharan Africa. Forum for Development Studies. 87-107.
- (2011). Tilfellet Malawi. Hubro. Magasin for Universitetet i Bergen. 56-57.
- (2011). The ANC and power concentration in South Africa: does local democracy allow for power-sharing? Democratization. 1067-1086.
- (2011). Slik er Zumas stormakt.
- (2011). Legislating identity representation in Uganda.
- (2011). Fredspris til Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf og Leymah Gbowee.
- (2011). Afrikanske/Latinamerikanske/Globale utfordringer.
- (2011). Afrikanske utfordringer - En innføring i afrikansk politikk, -boksalong.
- (2011). Afrikanske utfordringer - En innføring i afrikansk politikk. Cappelen Damm Høyskoleforlaget.
- (2010). Malawi - et kort innblikk i kultur og politikk.
- (2010). Food security in Malawi: Understanding the landslide victory of the incumbent in the 2009 presidential election.
- (2010). Afrika: Feltarbeid - evaluering og innhenting av informasjon.
- (2009). ”Utfordringer knyttet til realiseringen av demokratiske ideer og institusjoner md vekt på Afrika”.
- (2009). The strength of presidential parties in local elections: A comparative analysis of Malawi, South Africa and Uganda.
- (2009). Strategier for informasjonsinnsamling i en annen kulturell kontekst.
- (2009). Reintroducing a Local-Level Multiparty System in Uganda: Why Be in Opposition? Government and Opposition. 91-112.
- (2009). Politikk og kultur i Uganda.
- (2009). Party Affiliation in New Democracies: Reactions to the split of the ruling party in Malawi.
- (2009). Organisator av Panel 4 Concentration of power in South Africa: Is local democracy the road to power-sharing?
- (2009). Local democracy and political opposition in South Africa.
- (2009). Local Perspectives on the 'neutrality' of traditional authorities in Malawi, South Africa and Uganda. Commonwealth and Comparative Politics. 28-51.
- (2009). Forskningsetikk: Redelighet og den frie tanke.
- (2009). Fjorten år som ompalompa.
- (2009). Eliteintervju.
- (2009). Bruk av observasjon som metode i Statsvitenskap.
- (2009). ANC og maktkonsentrasjon i Sør-Afrika: Åpner lokaldemokratiet for maktdeling? Politica - Tidsskrift for politisk videnskab. 283-299.
- (2008). Ålesunder med doktorgrad om demokratisering i Afrika.
- (2008). Popular representation in Africa: The politics of expectations.
- (2008). Local democracy and political opposition in South Africa.
- (2008). Is Democratic Decentralisation more likely to succeed in Dominant Party Systems? Comparing the cases of Malawi, South Africa and Uganda.
- (2008). Democratic Decentralisation and the Pull towards the Government Party.
- (2008). Afrika: Feltarbeid – evaluering og innhenting av informasjon.
- (2008). Affection and Defection: Local Perspectives on the Pull Towards the Government Party in Malawi, South Africa and Uganda.
- (2007). Why local democracy failed in Malawi: Notes from a field study.
- (2007). Strategier for informasjonsinnsamling i annen kulturell kontekst.
- (2007). Staying loyal to the party or the president? Party institutionalisation at local level in Malawi.
- (2007). Re-introducing Multiparty system at the Local Level in Uganda: Why be in opposition?
- (2007). Observasjon og Observasjon i praksis.
- (2007). Hvorfor velge UiB som arbeidsplass? Stipendiattilværelsen ved UiB.
- (2007). Feltarbeidet og etikk.
- (2007). Experience from a Fieldwork in Malawi, South Africa and Uganda.
- (2007). Det Kvalitative Intervju: Eksempel fra forskning på Uganda.
- (2007). Det Kvalitative Intervju: Eksempel fra forskning på Uganda.
- (2007). Chiefs in Malawi: Substituting Local Democracy, Accommodating National Politics.
- (2006). Variations in perceptions of popular representation at local level in Malawi, South Africa and Uganda.
- (2006). Utfordringer knyttet til Feltarbeid.
- (2005). Dilemmas Connected to Recognising Customary Law and Courts in South Africa. 15 pages.
- (2005). Chiefs in Local Democracy: Framework for Analysing Local Governance in East and Southern Africa.
- (2004). Det sivile samfunn og demokratiutvikling i Afrika.
- (2004). Decentralisation and the political force of traditional authorities.
- (2002). Two Bulls in a Kraal - Recognising cultural difference in post-Apartheid South Africa.
More information in national current research information system (CRIStin)
Gender-Gap in Political Endurance: a novel political inclusion theory (SUCCESS)
Ragnhild L. Muriaas (Project leader). This is a five years ERC Consolidator Grant project (2021-2026).
SUCCESS will advance a novel theory of inclusion that explains gender-gaps in endurance and provide much-needed new empirical evidence on how, why and under what conditions gender-gaps in political endurance can be closed in a world with high electoral volatility.
How does political endurance matter for political outcomes?
What strategies do elected representatives use to sustain their political careers?
How do voters evaluate political experience – when is it good and when is it bad?
Are there specific institutions and contexts that underpin gender-gaps in political endurance across time, regions, and political systems?
The Cost of Doing Politics: Gender Aspects of Political Violence
PI Vibeke Wang, CMI. Research project financed by FRIHUMSAM, the Research Council of Norway (2020-2025).
Team: Gretchen Bauer, Elin Bjarnegård, Jana Birke Belschner, Fiona Buckley, Akosua Darkwah, Gerald Karyeija, Stella Kyohairwe, Ragnhild Muriaas, Pär Zetterberg
Across the globe, there has been a substantial increase in gender equality in political life. Women have more than doubled their presence in national parliaments from 1995 (11.3 %) to 2018 (23.4%) (Inter-Parliamentary Union). However, there are indications that women’s political gains may have come at a high cost. Practitioner organizations as well as academics seek to raise awareness about physical attacks, intimidation, and harassment aimed at women politicians. This project aims to better understand how gender shapes the scope, form, and consequences of political violence targeted at politicians, and to develop strategies to reduce the problem.
Youth in Africa: How Africa's post conflict regimes handle the African Millennias (Norglobal)
Project leader: Lovise Aalen, Research project financed by Norglobal, the Research Council of Norway (2019 - 2022)
Team: Asnake Kefale, Aslak Orre, Simbarashe Gukurume, Marjoke Oosterom, Gerald K. Karyeija, Ragnhild Louise Muriaas, Pauline Lemaire, and Salvador Forquilha
The population in sub-Saharan Africa is the fastest growing and the youngest in the world, yet the politicians ruling them are typically among the oldest.
This observation is the starting point of a new NORGLOBAL project. It zooms in on four countries – Ethiopia, Mozambique, Uganda and Zimbabwe – in which the current rulers are yesterday’s rebels. They consolidated authoritarian regimes after securing victory in the liberation struggles between the 1975 and 1992. The vast majority of citizens was born long after that, yet it knows no other powerholders.
While youth is an asset for any population, the above conundrum represents several challenges. One is “economic”, as most of the sub-Saharan African economies struggle to produce enough decent work for the large youth cohorts that enter labour markets every year. The other is “political”. Can the aging rulers govern in a way that satisfy the material needs and political aspirations of the upcoming generations?
Earlier projects:
Money Talks: Gendered Electoral Financing in Democratic and Democratizing States.
Ragnhild L. Muriaas (Project leader). Research project financed by FRIHUMSAM, the Research Council of Norway (2016-2020).
Money is assumingly one of the greatest barriers to women in the political recruitment process. Particularly in candidate-centered electoral system where candidates compete twice: first in the primaries, and then, if they are successful, in elections at the state or national level. The financial disadvantage of women is expected to constitute an obstacle for women´s entry into politics everywhere and especially in developing countries where women´s socio-economic status is disproportionately low relative to men. This line of reasoning has caused a global upswing in financial schemes targeting women candidates, although the scholarship on women´s representation has not followed suit. MoneyTalks represents a new research frontier by putting the effects of gendered electoral finaincing on the agenda. The project analyzes on how such schemes - separate from or in conjunction with gender quotas, interact with electoral processes and institutions that tend to be gendered across regions. Key cases are Cape Verde, Ireland, Kenya, Malawi, Tunisia and the United Kingdom.
Engineering gender equality: The effects of aid to women’s political representation in Malawi, Sudan, Uganda and Zambia.
Liv Tønnessen (project leader). Research project financed by NORDGLOBAL, the Research Council of Norway (2013-2017). Ragnhild Louise Muriaas is principal investigator.
In the last decades the international community has placed women's political participation on the agenda. One of the key motivators behind this focus on women's political participation has been the assumption that there is a causal relationship between women's numerical representation on the one hand, and the substantive and symbolic representation of women on the other. This project focuses on questions related to women's representation in four African cases that have been key recipients of gendered aid the last decade (Malawi, Sudan, Uganda and Zambia). Muriaas main focus in this project has been studying reforms within the area of ending early marriages among key political agents in Zambia and Malawi, as well as, conducting survey experiments on the endorsement effects within reforms on early marriage, gender quotas and land reform in Malawi. The survey is conducted in collaboration with The Progamme of Governance and Local Development at Gothenburg (GLD), se http://gld.gu.se/malawi.html
Labor migration and the moral sustainability of the Norwegian welfare state.
Stein Kuhnle (project leader). Research project funded by VAM, the Research Council of Norway (2013-2017).
EDUCATION
2008 Ph.D, Departmenet of Comparative Politics, University of Bergen.
2002 Cand. Polit. Degree. Department of Comparative Politics, University of Bergen.
1996 Cand. Mag. Degree. Faculty of Social Science, University of Bergen.
POSITIONS
2015 Associate Senior Researcher, Chr. Michelsen Institute (CMI), Bergen, Norway.
2013 - Associate Professor,Department of Comparative Politics, University of Bergen.
2010 Visiting Scholar, Department of Sociology, University of California (Berkeley).
2009 - 2013 Post-doctor,Department of Comparative Politics, University of Bergen.
2005-2006 Visiting scholar, Department of Political Studies, University of Cape Town, South Africa.
2005 Visiting scholar, Political Science and Public Administration, Makerere University, Uganda.
2004 Visiting PhD-student, The Nordic Africa Institute, Uppsala, Sweden.
2004 - 2008 PhD Student, Department of Comparative Politics, University of Bergen.
2002 - 2004 University lecturer, Department of Comparative Politics, University of Bergen.
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