Anna Lührmann, Ph.D.

anna.luehrmann@v-dem.net

Gothenburg University

Country: Sweden

About Me:

Anna Lührmann (*1983) is the Deputy Director of the Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) Institute and Assistant Professor at the University of Gothenburg. Prior to turning to academia, Anna was a Member of Parliament in the German National Parliament (2002- 2009) and later worked in Sudan for two years. She received her PhD in 2015 from Humboldt University (Berlin) with a thesis on United Nation’s electoral assistance. Anna Lührmann holds a M.A. degree in “Research Training in Social Sciences” from Humboldt University (Berlin), a M.Sc. degree in Gender and Peace Studies from Ahfad University (Sudan) and a B.A. in Political Sciences from FernUniversität Hagen (Germany). She served as a consultant for UNDP, the World Bank and others. Her research has been published among others in Electoral Studies, International Political Science Review and the Journal of Democracy.

Research Interests

Comparative Political Institutions

Comparative Democratization

Representation and Electoral Systems

Elections, Election Administration, and Voting Behavior

Democratic Backsliding

Autocratic Populism

Autocracy

Democracy

Countries of Interest

Germany

Sudan

My Research:

Broadly speaking, my research interests are autocratization/ backsliding, democratization, elections, autocracies, regime legitimacy, democracy aid and the United Nations. I have published among others in the Journal of Democracy, Electoral Studies, Democratization and International Political Science Review. My current research focuses on how and why democracy is eroding in many countries across the world. I contribute to the Failing and Successful Sequences of Democratization- Project. Furthermore, I investigate the role of citizens in autocracies and why electoral losers accept defeat. I lead a number of V-Dem outreach, policy and fundraising activities, and contribute to the administration of the institute and our flagship dataset. I served as a consultant for UNDP, the World Bank, USAID and others.