Excellent research
The Vice-Chancellor supports excellent research at the University of Gothenburg by providing funding to researchers who receive grants for strategically important centres of excellence. The following political scientists have been awarded this support.
Bo Rothstein
Bo Rothstein is a Senior Professor and was appointed Wallenberg Scholar in 2010 for his research on the quality of political institutions, trust, and corruption. He is one of the founders of the Quality of Government Institute (QoG) at the University of Gothenburg.
In 2013, he received an ERC Advanced Grant for the project The Performance of Democracies. He held the August Röhss Chair in Political Science from 1994 to 2021.
In 2021, Bo Rothstein was awarded H.M. The King’s Medal, 8th size with the ribbon of the Order of the Seraphim.
Staffan I. Lindberg
Staffan I. Lindberg is Professor of Political Science and was appointed Wallenberg Academy Fellow in 2013 to found the V-Dem Institute at the University of Gothenburg. Between 2014 and 2019, he was a member of the Young Academy of Sweden.
In 2017, he was awarded an ERC Consolidator Grant for his research on democratization within the project Failing and Successful Sequences of Democratization. In 2018, he received a prolongation of his Wallenberg Academy Fellowship to lead the research project Endangered Democracies: Sequences of Autocratization.
In 2020, he was awarded funding through the Swedish Research Council’s initiative for national research infrastructure for Demscore, a consortium consisting of several complex and internationally leading research infrastructures in Sweden.
In 2023, Staffan I. Lindberg received the Rettig Prize from the Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities, as well as H.M. The King’s Medal, 8th size with the ribbon of the Order of the Seraphim.
Ellen Lust
Ellen Lust is Professor and Founder and Director of the Governance and Local Development Institute (GLD). Research at GLD seeks to explain variations in political governance and local development to promote human welfare globally. She was previously a Professor at Yale University in the United States.
She was recruited to the University of Gothenburg in 2014 with support from the Swedish Research Council, as part of a government initiative enabling Swedish universities to recruit leading international scholars.
Ann Towns
Elin Naurin is Professor of Political Science and conducts research on representative democracy, specifically parties’ election pledges and politicians’ responsiveness to public opinion. She was appointed Wallenberg Academy Fellow in 2017 for her research on how pregnancy and childbirth shape individuals’ political attitudes. She leads the research programme Pregnancy, Parenthood and Democracy (PregDem).
Elin Naurin
Elin Naurin is Professor of Political Science and conducts research on representative democracy, specifically parties’ election pledges and politicians’ responsiveness to public opinion. She was appointed Wallenberg Academy Fellow in 2017 for her research on how pregnancy and childbirth shape individuals’ political attitudes. She leads the research programme Pregnancy, Parenthood and Democracy (PregDem).
Ann-Kristin Kölln
Ann-Kristin Kölln is Professor of Political Science and conducts research on political parties and public opinion in Europe. In 2022, she received an ERC Starting Grant for her research on factions within political parties. The project is titled The Advantages of Conflict: How Factions Can Strengthen Political Parties’ Electoral Performance (INTRAPARTY).
She is a member of the Young Academy of Sweden for the period 2023–2028.
Aksel Sundström
Aksel Sundström is Professor of Political Science and conducts research on political representation, with particular focus on the underrepresentation of women and young people in politics, as well as environmental policy in low-income countries. In 2023, he received an ERC Starting Grant for the research project Female Leadership and the Effects of Drought in Africa (Fem-LEAD), which examines how extreme weather events, such as droughts and other natural disasters, affect gender equality in African politics.
Florence So
Florence So is an Associate Professor of Political Science. Her research interests include the behavioural consequences of national economic conditions, coalition politics, democratic attitudes, the consequences of gender bias, the political economy of elections and parties, and game theory.
In 2025, she received an ERC Starting Grant for the project More Money, Different Problems? Political Engagement in Good Economic Times (ECONENGAGE), which examines the relationship between economic prosperity and political engagement.
Kristen Kao
Kristen Kao is an Associate Professor of Political Science with expertise in survey methodology and experimental design, with particular focus on the Middle East and Africa. In 2025, she was appointed Wallenberg Academy Fellow for her research on how countries recover after civil war and to establish and lead the project Bridging Injustice Gaps: Peace Enhancement After Conflict Ends (BIG PEACE).
The Different Research Grants
ERC Grants: The European Research Council (ERC) annually announces four types of research grants to support researchers at different stages of their careers. The ERC particularly promotes interdisciplinary projects that pose innovative questions and have the potential to generate groundbreaking and innovative results, methods, and products.
Wallenberg Scholars: The programme enables researchers to work long-term and at a high level of ambition in order to achieve a stronger international impact. It also allows for investment in bold and long-term research projects. The research is funded by the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation.
Wallenberg Academy Fellows: The programme provides young researchers with long-term support so they can focus on their research. It also contributes to the increased internationalisation of the Swedish research environment. The research is funded by the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation.