Dan Banik

Dan Banik is professor of political science and director of the Oslo SDG Initiative at the Centre for Development and the Environment, University of Oslo.

He has previously been a Fulbright fellow, Visiting Professor and Consulting Scholar at Stanford University’s Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law.

Prof. Banik’s research interests include poverty, food security, famine, foreign aid, governance, human rights, sustainable development goals (SDGs) and what works in global development. He has conducted research in India, China, Bangladesh, Malawi, Uganda, Ethiopia, Tanzania, South Africa and Mexico, and directs the interdisciplinary research program ‘Poverty Reduction and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development' at the University of Oslo.

He has previously served as the head of the reference group for Norwegian-Finnish Trust Fund in the World Bank for Environmentally and Socially Sustainable Development (TFESSD) and on the Board of the Norwegian Crown Prince and Crown Princess’s Foundation.

His books include 'Political Transition and Inclusive Development in Malawi: The democratic dividend' (2016, Routledge), ‘The Legal Empowerment Agenda: Poverty, Labour and the Informal Economy in Africa’ (2011, Ashgate), ‘Poverty and Elusive Development’ (2010, Scandinavian University Press) and ‘Starvation and India’s Democracy’ (2009, Routledge).

Prof. Banik hosts the "In Pursuit of Development" podcast with listeners in over 140 countries:
https://in-pursuit-of-development.simplecast.com/