The Environmental Politics Research Group provides a vibrant space for doctoral researchers, please find ongoing and completed doctoral projects supervised by Prof. Alice Vadrot below.
We are always happy to talk about new potential doctoral research opportunities.
Ongoing doctoral researchers
EMIL W. HILDEBRAND
Data and science at the final frontier: Mapping controversies of ocean data and marine science in deep-sea mining negotiations
2024 – present
Supervisor: Prof. Alice Vadrot
Funding: TwinPolitics
Emil’s thesis project aims to identify how data and science influence the construction of a deep-sea mining regime currently being negotiated at the International Seabed Authority (ISA). He focuses on the production, use, and contestation of data and science within the deep-sea mining controversy, employing a controversy mapping approach and quantitative methods to map the actors involved and how they are influenced by and shape data and science. Based on a theoretical framework combining environmental agreement-making with actor-network theory, he examines the influence of data and science in three stages: its production, its use and contestation in the negotiation setting, and future data and science needs. Through a combination of bibliometric analysis, LLM-based approaches and qualitative mapping, his research aims to map the dynamics of scientific discourses, actor coalitions, and the political dimensions of knowledge at each stage. The findings contribute to understanding the interplay between science, politics, and policy in international negotiations, as well as reflecting on possible avenues for improvement in the input of data and science in environmental policymaking.
emil.wieringa.hildebrand@univie.ac.at
CAROLIN HIRT
The Politics in and beyond the European Digital Twin of the Ocean: Power Relations, Socio-Technical Networks, and Imaginaries
2024 – present
Supervisor: Prof. Alice Vadrot
Funding: TwinPolitics
This doctoral research project investigates the political dimensions of digital twins, with a particular focus on the European Digital Twin of the Ocean (EU DTO). While digital twins were originally developed for industrial applications, they are increasingly leaving their sphere of origin and mirror parts of the shared commons, like forests or the ocean. Conceptualizing digital twins as socio-technical relations through which power operates, the project adopts a mixed-methods approach to critically examine the political dimensions of the EU DTO. In doing so, this project aims to shed light on the potential implications of this technology on ocean governance and environmental futures.
carolin.hirt@univie.ac.at
WENWEN LYU
The Politics of Data-Driven Ocean Governance: the case of marine biodiversity in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction
2024 – present
Supervisor: Prof. Alice Vadrot
Funding: TwinPolitics
Her doctoral research focuses on how data-driven ocean governance of marine biodiversity in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (ABNJ) can be achieved in an equitable way.
wenwen.lyu@univie.ac.at
FELIX NÜTZ
Politics of Knowledge and International Environmental Negotiations: The Case of the Global Plastics Treaty
2024 – present
Supervisor: Prof. Alice Vadrot
Funding: TwinPolitics
The plastic crisis is one of the most pressing threats to humanity, the Earth’s ecosystems, and the ocean. As a response, states convened the International Negotiating Committee (INC) in 2022 to negotiate a new global treaty and combat plastic pollution. However, despite abundant scientific evidence of the damage caused by plastics, the negotiations are highly contentious, with strong opposition between pro- and anti-regulation groups of states. The plastics case has been linked to a broader trend in international environmental agreements, where negotiations are increasingly politicized and scientific knowledge is pushed out.
In my research, I will critically examine how scientific knowledge and emerging technologies influence global environmental negotiations. I will apply Bob Jessop’s theory of strategic selectivity to the field of global environmental negotiations. Using data collected from all INC sessions, particularly observations of statements made during negotiations, I will analyze how different patterns of selectivity influence the translation of scientific knowledge into policy and policymaking in general. I will argue that the input of scientific knowledge into negotiations is underpinned by an interpretative process mediated by the ideas and values of the actors involved.
Preliminary findings suggest that, although the urgency of the plastics crisis may not be reflected in the negotiations, scientific evidence is not being ignored. Both pro- and anti-regulation groups use scientific arguments, albeit to reach very different conclusions. My analysis recommends viewing the negotiations through the lens of selectivity patterns instead of considering the process as an apolitical translation of scientific evidence into policy.
felix.nuetz@univie.ac.at
SILVIA RUIZ-RODRÍGUEZ
Digital multilateral diplomacy in marine biodiversity negotiations
2021 – present
Supervisor: Prof. Alice Vadrot
Funding: Sowi:Docs Fellowship by the Vienna Doctoral School of Social Sciences
Her research focuses on in-person and digital multilateral diplomacy at marine biodiversity negotiations
silvia.ruiz@univie.ac.at
Completed doctoral researchers
PAUL DUNSHIRN
The Ocean Genome as a Global Commons: Empirical Foundations for Equitable Governance
2020 – present
Supervisor: Prof. Alice Vadrot, Prof. Immanuel Bomze
His research focuses on questions of governance and global equity around marine genetic resources. Using computational methods, he traces marine genetic resource pathways from the moment of sampling to scientific research and patenting.
paul.dunshirn@univie.ac.at
INA TAMARA TESSNOW-VON WYSOCKI
Science-policy interfaces for ocean protection
2019 – 2023
Supervisor: Prof. Alice Vadrot, Prof. Kristina Gjerde
ARNE LANGLET
2019 – 2024
Supervisor: Prof. Alice Vadrot, Prof. Jean-Frédéric Morin
In June 2023, the landmark treaty to protect the high seas, the International Legally Binding Instrument Under the United Nations Convention on The Law of The Sea For The Conservation And Sustainable Use Of Marine Biodiversity Of Area Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ), was adopted after more than four years of negotiations, already counting an impressive number of 83 signatories by the beginning of November 2023. However, the new Agreement will not function in isolation but the negotiations were situated within a multifaceted landscape of global governance, characterized by a complex interplay of international organizations (IOs) and existing legal frameworks. This thesis explores the role of existing IOs in the BBNJ negotiations, identifying a marine biodiversity regime complex. The BBNJ agreement is expected to complement UNCLOS and existing global, regional, subregional, and sectoral instruments without undermining them. While the existence of a marine biodiversity regime complex is acknowledged widely and was also perceived by policymakers, there has been little detailed discussion about its elements, i.e. all the IOs that belong to it. Further, to effectively achieve its objectives and address scientific uncertainties in marine biodiversity, the BBNJ institutions will require expert authority is essential. However, in regime complexes, and particularly in marine biodiversity governance, identifying and locating expert authority has become increasingly challenging as it unfolds across multiple sites and is characterized by political struggles.
Contact: arne.langlet@univie.ac.at
