Faaland's actuarial science studies were interrupted on November 30, 1943 when the University was occupied by the German Nazi government and 650 students were arrested.
Faaland was detained at Stavern, Norway from 30 November 1943 to 7 January 1944 and then sent to the Buchenwald concentration camp.
Upon his return to Norway in May 1945, Faaland resumed his actuarial degree and then studied economics under Ragnar Frisch.
With the political scientist Stein Rokkan he initiated and developed broader research programmes and employed more people in the 1950s and in 1961 they defined research programs in international economics and comparative politics.
In the early 1980s, Faaland established a human rights programme which soon grew to become the other main focus of CMI's social science research.