Michael Lidauer is a scholar-practitioner engaged in democracy support and peacebuilding, both in academic contexts and through practical involvement as a resource person for international organisations. With over twenty years of experience focusing on elections, civil society, independent evaluations, and capacity building, he has developed a regional specialization in South and Southeast Asia, particularly Myanmar, where he has been active since 2010. Michael has been following electoral developments in Myanmar as an academic, analyst, and election observer, and now extends his focus also to Bangladesh. He took part in an interdisciplinary PhD program at Goethe University Frankfurt from 2010 to 2013 and holds a Master’s degree in Social and Cultural Anthropology from the University of Vienna, Austria (2002). Michael worked as Co-ordinator of Trainings for Crisis Regions at the Austrian Centre for Peace (ACP) between 2007 and 2009, and is a co-founder of Election-Watch.EU. His work includes policy-relevant publications in peer-reviewed academic journals and other platforms.