Research
Research at the Chair Group of Sustainability Governance is targeted at the nexus of sustainability, science, and society. Our research is theory-driven and empirically grounded, often based on case studies with a reach from local to transnational and global levels. We have conducted research in various European, Latin American and African contexts.
In our work we, inter alia, focus on …
- environmental conflicts in geopolitical contexts;
- dynamics of socio-technical transformations;
- environmental injustice and just sustainabilities;
- environmental knowledge politics;
- professional epistemologies and cultures of expertise;
- collective action – mobilization and resistance.
We work in a broad spectrum of policy fields including biodiversity, climate change, energy, water, land-use, conservation, mining, and food.
In terms of scholarly strands, we build on various approaches including Political Ecology, Governmentality, Post-structuralist Policy Studies, Transition Studies, Science & Technology Studies (STS), Critical Peace and Conflict Studies, and Decolonial Theory. Methodologically, our research largely draws on qualitative methods anchored in the critical interpretivist tradition of the social sciences and mixed methods. Inter- and transdisciplinarity are integral features of all our work as we seek to illuminate the possibilities and limits of these new principles of scientific problem-solving.
About us
Our profile, latest news and more.
Teaching
Our courses and information about theses.
Our Team
Introduction of our team members with short bios.
New Publications
- Lauser, Moritz J. F. (2024): Climate risk maps as boundary objects for future forests. Environmental Science & Policy. 162, 103908. DOI: https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2024.103908
- Welter, Zabrina, & Rojas, Axel (2024): Spatial repertoires of power in the production of mining territories in northern Cauca, Colombia: Between imposition and negotiation. Environment and Security. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/27538796241263216
- Jakob Kramer, Sophia Silverton, & Philipp Späth (2024): Urban governance arrangements for sustainability and justice – linking theory with experience. Urban Transformations 6 /2024. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s42854-024-00064-4
Completed Projects
(Selection)
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MIASA
Interdisciplinary Fellowship Group “The Governance of Energy Transitions in the Global South”
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UrbanA
Urban Arenas for Sustainable and Just Cities
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KERNiG
Municipal food systems as the key to comprehensive, integrative sustainability governance: “Knowledge integration” sub-project
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KNOWING
The knowledge politics of smart urbanism
Academic Qualification Projects
- Dissertation Project Simon Funke
Die zunehmende Dezentralisierung des deutschen Stromversorgungssystems: Auswirkungen auf die technologische Infrastruktur und Resonanz in politischen Diskurskoalitionen [The increasing decentralisation of the German electricity supply system: effects on the technological infrastructure and resonance in political discourse coalitions]- First supervisor: Philipp Späth
- First supervisor: Philipp Späth
- Dissertation Project Manuel John
Exploring professional epistemologies in the context of forest biodiversity research- Tied to DFG Research Training Group ConFoBi
- First supervisor: Michael Pregernig
- Funding: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG)
- Dissertation Project Romane Joly
Food circulation shaping the hinterland: dairy supply chains in the Upper Rhine region- First supervisor: Philipp Späth
- Funding: University of Strasbourg, Deutsch-Französische Hochschule
- Dissertation Project Moritz Lauser
Epistemic dynamics in science-policy interactions: Exploring the development and application of scientific advisory products for future forests- Tied to DFG Research Training Group ConFoBi
- First supervisor: Michael Pregernig
- Funding: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG)
- Dissertation Project Ronja Mikoleit
Professional epistemologies and integration of biodiversity-related knowledge into socio-political decision-making- Tied to DFG Research Training Group ConFoBi
- First supervisor: Michael Pregernig
- Funding: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG)
- Dissertation Project Silvia Monetti
Shaping sustainable food systems for all? Food policy strategies, local food governance, and justice: Changing or maintaining the status quo – the case of Germany- First supervisor: Michael Pregernig
- First supervisor: Michael Pregernig
- Dissertation Project Melani Pelaez Jara
Science-policy-society interactions in environmental risk and adaptation policymaking: evidence from Latin America and Europe- Tied to project “Flood Adapt – Flood protection policies and climate change adaptation in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland”
- First supervisor: Michael Pregernig
- Funding: Heinrich Böll Stiftung
- Dissertation Project Désirée Schwindenhammer
Discursive Power and Institutions in Coastal Marine Governance: Perspectives on Blue Growth and Blue Justice in (Post-)Colonial Contexts- First supervisor: Michael Pregernig
- First supervisor: Michael Pregernig
- Dissertation Project Zabrina Welter
Extractive resource bonanzas, territorial struggles, and the production of new territories in Colombia- First supervisor: Michael Pregernig
- Funding: Heinrich Böll Stiftung