The Environmental Politics Research groups is led by Prof. Alice Vadrot and employs five doctoral researchers, one post-doctoral researcher, one senior scientist as well as three junior researchers (master level). Two administrators support the group in administrative and communication matters.

Prof. Dr. Alice Vadrot

Head

         

Contact: alice.vadrot@univie.ac.at 

Alice Vadrot has been Professor for International Relations and Environment at the Department of Political Science since March 2025.

She completed her doctorate on the World Biodiversity Council in 2013 and returned to the University of Vienna in 2017 after a two-year research stay at Cambridge University as an Erwin Schrödinger Fellow of the Austrian Research Fund (FWF). Her focus is on researching the interface between science and politics in international environmental diplomacy and developing new methodological approaches to examining the role of knowledge in international negotiations.

In 2018, the political scientist received an ERC Starting Grant for her project MARIPOLDATA (2018-2024), in which she and her research group are mapping negotiations on a new agreement to protect the high seas and the development of the scientific field of marine biodiversity. As part of the EU project MARCO-BOLO (2022-2026), she is investigating the need for data in biodiversity policy and nature conservation practice. In 2024 she received the ERC Grant for her project TwinPolitics, in which she and a dedicated group of researchers examine the political and social implications of Digital Twins of the Ocean.

In 2025 she received the Henrik-Enderlein Prize from the Hertie School of Governance, Sciences Po, the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs and the German Federal Foreign Office and the Figdor Award for Law, Social Sciences and Economics by the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW).

Vadrot is a member of the Young Academy of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW), the Mission Board of the EU Water Mission, the Management Board of the Environment and Climate Hub of the University of Vienna, the management team of the Austrian Biodiversity Council and the scientific advisory board of Biodiversa+.

Key Publications

  • Peters, Kimberley & Vadrot, Alice B. M. (2025). Editorial: Social science perspectives on marine biodiversity governance. Frontiers in Marine Science, 12, 1724090. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2025.1724090 
  • Vadrot, Alice B.M., Dunshirn, Paul, Langlet, Arne, Fellinger, Simon J., Ruiz-Rodríguez, Silvia C., & Tessnow-von Wysocki, Ina (2025). Writing negotiations: Collaborative field note-taking during global environmental meetings. Qualitative Research, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/14687941251341984
  • Ruiz-Rodríguez, Silvia C., & Vadrot, Alice B.M. (2025). Negotiating marine protected areas across knowledge systems: Multilateral boundary work in practice. International Affairs, 101(3), 879–902. https://doi.org/10.1093/ia/iiaf004
  • Vadrot, Alice B.M., Langlet, Arne, Dunshirn, Paul, Fellinger, Simon J., Ruiz-Rodríguez, Silvia C., & Tessnow-von Wysocki, Ina (2024). Zooming in on agreement-making: Tracing the BBNJ negotiations with the MARIPOLDATAbase. Global Environmental Politics, 24(4), 152–178. https://doi.org/10.1162/glep_a_00767
  • Tessnow-von Wysocki, Ina, & Vadrot, Alice B.M. (2024). Pathways of scientific input into intergovernmental negotiations: a new agreement on marine biodiversity. International Environmental Agreements. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10784-024-09642-0
  • Vadrot, Alice B.M., & Wanneau, Krystel (2024). The social science side of marine biodiversity monitoring. ICES Journal of Marine Science, 81(5), 864–876. https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fsae041
  • Langlet, Arne, & Vadrot, Alice B.M. (2024). Expert authority politics in the marine biodiversity complex. Global Environmental Politics, 24(2), 98–121. https://doi.org/10.1162/glep_a_00744
  • Langlet, Arne, & Vadrot, Alice B.M. (2023). Negotiating regime complexity: Following a regime complex in the making. Review of International Studies, 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0260210523000402
  • Hughes, Hannah, & Vadrot, Alice B.M. (Eds.). (2023). Conducting research on global environmental agreement-making. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009179454

Download CV here

 

Dr. Arne Langlet-Uranüs BA MA

Senior Scientist

Joined the team in 2019

         

Contact: arne.langlet@univie.ac.at // +43-1-4277-49-441

Arne Langlet-Uranüs is a Senior Scientist at the Environmental Politics Research Group (EPRG) at the University of Vienna. Before assuming this position, he was a research associate (post-doc) in the Horizon Europe project MARCO-BOLO (MARine COastal BiOdiversity Long-term Observations) researching the use of marine biodiversity data among stakeholders to align product development with needs of policy-making and as a Fisheries Consultant for the FAO, focusing on ecosystem restoration. In 2024 he concluded a PhD within the ERC research project MARIPOLDATA at the University of Vienna, specializing in the marine biodiversity regime complex and the study of international negotiations and organizations. His academic background includes a Master’s in International Relations from Berlin, focusing on environmental policy and quantitative analysis, and a Bachelor’s in European Studies from Maastricht University. Additionally, he offers his expertise to the IUCN as a member of the High Seas Specialist Group.

He is also a data scientist, volunteering with CorrelAid to consult for social organizations and develop workshops on data visualization. His work is reflected in multiple publications focusing on marine biodiversity policy-making, the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) negotiations and the study of international negotiations.

Key Publications

  • Langlet, Arne, & Vadrot, Alice B.M. (2024). Expert authority politics in the marine biodiversity complex. Global Environmental Politics, 24(2), 98–121. https://doi.org/10.1162/glep_a_00744
  • Langlet, Arne, & Vadrot, Alice B.M. (2023). Negotiating regime complexity: Following a regime complex in the making. Review of International Studies, 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0260210523000402
  • Langlet, Arne , & Vadrot, Alice B.M. (2023). Not ‘undermining’ who? Unpacking the emerging BBNJ regime complex. Marine Policy, 147, 105372. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2022.105372 
  • Vadrot, Alice B.M., Langlet, Arne, Dunshirn, Paul, Fellinger, Simon, Ruiz-Rodríguez, Silvia C., & Tessnow-von Wysocki, Ina (2024). Zooming in on agreement-making: Tracing the BBNJ negotiations with the MARIPOLDATAbase. Global Environmental Politics, 24(4), 152–178. https://doi.org/10.1162/glep_a_00767
  • Langlet, Arne, Paul Dunshirn, Marcel Jaspars, Fran Humphries, and Daniel Kachelriess. 2025. “Monitoring and Transparency Aspects of MGR-Utilization Under the BBNJ Agreement.” Pp. 181–200 in Decoding Marine Genetic Resource Governance Under the BBNJ Agreement, edited by F. Humphries. Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland.
  • Langlet, Arne, & Vadrot, Alice B.M. (2023). IOs in the BBNJ regime complex – The dataset. Data in Brief, 48, 109153. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dib.2023.109153
  • Langlet, Arne, Wanneau, Krystel, Dunshirn, Paul, Ruiz Rodríguez, Silvia, Tessnow-von Wysocki, Ina, & Vadrot, Alice B.M. (2022). A matter of time: The impacts of Covid-19 on marine biodiversity negotiations. Négociations, 37, 39–65. https://doi.org/10.3917/neg.037.0039
  • Vadrot, Alice B.M., Langlet, Arne, & Tessnow-von Wysocki, Ina (2022). Who owns marine biodiversity? Contesting the world order through the ‘common heritage of humankind’ principle. Environmental Politics, 31(2), 226–250. https://doi.org/10.1080/09644016.2021.1911442

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Dr. Paul Dunshirn BA MA

Post doctoral researcher in ERC project TwinPolitics

Joined the team in 2020

Contact: paul.dunshirn@unvie.ac.at

Paul Dunshirn is a post doctoral researcher at the research platform “Governance of digital practices” (University of Vienna). He is an affiliate researcher at the ERC-funded project TwinPolitics. Paul has a background in political science and anthropology. In 2025 he completed his doctoral thesis “title” under the supervision of Vadrot and Bomze…
His current 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. The aim is to provide a better empirical grounding to current debates on biodiversity governance in the context of various UN processes (see BBNJ negotiations and Convention of Biological Diversity).

Key publications

  • Vadrot, Alice B.M., Dunshirn, Paul, Langlet, Arne, Fellinger, Simon J., Ruiz-Rodríguez, Silvia C., & Tessnow-von Wysocki, Ina (2025). Writing negotiations: Collaborative field note-taking during global environmental meetings. Qualitative Research, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/14687941251341984
  • Vadrot, Alice B.M., Langlet, Arne, Dunshirn, Paul, Fellinger, Simon J., Ruiz-Rodríguez, Silvia C., & Tessnow-von Wysocki, Ina (2024). Zooming in on agreement-making: Tracing the BBNJ negotiations with the MARIPOLDATAbase. Global Environmental Politics, 24(4), 152–178. https://doi.org/10.1162/glep_a_00767
  • Blasiak, Robert, Jean-Baptiste Jouffray, Diva J. Amon, Joachim Claudet, Paul Dunshirn, Peter Søgaard Jørgensen, Agnes Pranindita, Colette C. C. Wabnitz, Erik Zhivkoplias, and Henrik Österblom. (2023). Making Marine Biotechnology Work for People and Nature. Nature Ecology & Evolution, January, 1–4.
  • Vadrot, Alice B.M., Ruiz-Rodríguez, Silvia C., Brogat, Emmanuelle, Dunshirn, Paul, Langlet, Arne, Tessnow-von Wysocki, Ina, & Wanneau, Krystel (2022). Towards a reflexive, policy-relevant and engaged ocean science for the UN decade: A social science research agenda. Earth System Governance, 14, 100150. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esg.2022.100150

Silvia Ruíz Rodriguez BA MA

Doctoral Researcher in the ERC project TwinPolitics

Joined the team in 2021

Contact: silvia.ruiz@univie.ac.at

Silvia Ruíz-Rodriguez is a PhD student at the Department of Political Science of the University of Vienna. She has been awared a Sowi:Docs Fellowship by the Vienna Doctoral School of Social Sciences and is associated to the European Research Council Project MARIPOLDATA. Her PhD project focuses on in-person and digital multilateral diplomacy at marine biodiversity negotiations.

Silvia has a master’s in political science form the University of Vienna and a bachelor’s degree in law from the Metropolitan University in Caracas, Venezuela, where she graduated with honors. She received a double master’s degree in Piano Performance and Piano Pedagogy from Baylor University, Texas and a postgraduate diploma on Piano, Lied and chamber music repertoire from the University for Music and Performing Arts of Vienna”.

Key publications

  • Vadrot, Alice B.M., Dunshirn, Paul, Langlet, Arne, Fellinger, Simon J., Ruiz-Rodríguez, Silvia C., & Tessnow-von Wysocki, Ina (2025). Writing negotiations: Collaborative field note-taking during global environmental meetings. Qualitative Research, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/14687941251341984
  • Ruiz-Rodríguez, Silvia C., & Vadrot, Alice B.M. (2025). Negotiating marine protected areas across knowledge systems: Multilateral boundary work in practice. International Affairs, 101(3), 879–902. https://doi.org/10.1093/ia/iiaf004
  • Vadrot, Alice B.M., Langlet, Arne, Dunshirn, Paul, Fellinger, Simon, Ruiz-Rodríguez, Silvia C., & Tessnow-von Wysocki, Ina (2024). Zooming in on agreement-making: Tracing the BBNJ negotiations with the MARIPOLDATAbase. Global Environmental Politics, 24(4), 152–178. https://doi.org/10.1162/glep_a_00767
  • Vadrot, Alice B.M., Ruiz-Rodríguez, Silvia C., Brogat, Emmanuelle, Dunshirn, Paul, Langlet, Arne, Tessnow-von Wysocki, Ina, & Wanneau, Krystel (2022). Towards a reflexive, policy-relevant and engaged ocean science for the UN decade: A social science research agenda. Earth System Governance, 14, 100150. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esg.2022.100150
  • Vadrot, Alice B.M., & Ruiz-Rodríguez, Silvia C. (2022). Digital multilateralism in practice: Extending critical policy ethnography to digital negotiation sites. International Studies Quarterly, 66(3). https://doi.org/10.1093/isq/sqac051

Simon Joel Fellinger, BA MA

Coordinator of Biodiversity Austria – International

Joined the team in January 2023

Contact: simon.joel.fellinger@univie.ac.at // +43-1-4277-49-481

Simon Fellinger coordinates the Biodiversity Austria – International project. His responsibilities include planning and implementing a wide range of measures to disseminate and publicise IPBES findings in Austria. He also promotes the active involvement of experts in various IPBES processes. He supports the preparation of IPBES plenary sessions and participates in them.

Key publications

  • Vadrot, Alice B.M., Dunshirn, Paul, Langlet, Arne, Fellinger, Simon J., Ruiz-Rodríguez, Silvia C., & Tessnow-von Wysocki, Ina (2025). Writing negotiations: Collaborative field note-taking during global environmental meetings. Qualitative Research, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/14687941251341984
  • Vadrot, Alice B.M., Langlet, Arne, Dunshirn, Paul, Fellinger, Simon, Ruiz-Rodríguez, Silvia C., & Tessnow-von Wysocki, Ina (2024). Zooming in on agreement-making: Tracing the BBNJ negotiations with the MARIPOLDATAbase. Global Environmental Politics, 24(4), 152–178. https://doi.org/10.1162/glep_a_00767

Dr. Margarita Hartlieb, BSc MSc

Scientific coordinator of Biodiversity Austria – International

 

Joined the team in November 2025

Contact: margarita.hartlieb@univie.ac.at

Margarita Hartlieb is an interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary working ecologist who focuses on understanding the complex relationships within ecosystems and the impact of human activities on biodiversity. In November 2025, she started working as research associate at the Environmental Politics Research Group (EPRG) at the University of Vienna on the project Biodiversity Austria – International, the Austrian interface to the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). Prior to that, in her dissertation and subsequent research at the Technical University of Darmstadt as part of the BioDivKultur and Biodiversity Exploratories projects, she investigated how different land use practices in grassland habitats affect ecosystem function and biodiversity in both agricultural and rural landscapes with a focus on insects. Dedicated to connecting biodiversity research with practical land-use solutions that balance human needs with conservation, she engages in environmental education and science communication. As a trained National Park Ranger and certified Nature Educator, she shares her passion for biodiversity with a wide range of audiences.

Key publications

  • Hartlieb, Margarita, Staab, Michael, Berger, Johanna L., Achury, Rafael, Gossner, Martin M., Seibold, Sebastian, Weisser, Wolfgang W., Blüthgen, Nico (2025). Losers and winners: Responses of grassland arthropods to land-use components. Oikos e11404.  https://doi.org/10.1002/oik.11404
  • Zenglein, Florian, Berger, Johanna L., Hartlieb, Margarita (2025). Urban biodiversity and green space maintenance: limitations and chances in German cities. Urban Research & Practice, 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1080/17535069.2025.2561703
  • Hartlieb, Margarita (2025). The importance of collaboration, interdisciplinarity, and transdisciplinarity in grassland research. Grassland Research, 4(3), 296–304. https://doi.org/10.1002/glr2.70015
  • Berger, Johanna L.*, Daum, Sonja N.K.*, Hartlieb, M* (2024). Simply The Green: Urban Refuges. Basic and Applied Ecology, 80, 108-119. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.baae.2024.09.002
  • Hartlieb, Margarita, Raubitzek, Sebastian, Berger, Johanna L., Staab, Michael, Vogt, Juliane, Ayasse, Manfred, Ostrowski, Andreas, Weisser, Wolfgang, Blüthgen, Nico (2024). Assessing mowing intensity: A new index incorporating frequency, machinery, and technique. Grassland Research, 3(3), 264-274. https://doi.org/10.1002/glr2.12089
  • Massen,  Jorg J.M.*, Hartlieb, Margarita, Martin, Jordan S.*, Leitgeb, Elisabeth B., Hockl, Jasmin, Kocourek, Martin, Olkowicz, Seweryn, Zhang, Yicheng, Osadnik, Christin, Verkleij, Jorrit W., Bugnyar, Thomas, Němec, Pavel, Gallup, Andrew C. (2021). Brain size and neuron numbers drive differences in yawn duration across mammals and birds. Communications Biology, 4(1), 503. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-021-02019-y
    *shared first author

Emil Wieringa Hildebrand, BA MA

Doctoral Researcher in the ERC project TwinPolitics

Joined the team in November 2024

Contact: emil.wieringa.hildebrand@univie.ac.at // +43-1-4277-49-486

Emil W. Hildebrand is a PhD candidate within the ERC-funded research project TwinPolitics. His research is focused on international negotiations on deep-sea mining, and science, data and knowledge-driven ocean governance. He works predominantly with statistical and computational text analysis approaches. Emil has a master’s degree in political science from the University of Vienna and a bachelor’s degree in political science from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim and Erasmus University Rotterdam.

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Carolin Hirt, BA BA BSc MA

Doctoral Researcher in the ERC project TwinPolitics

Joined the team in November 2024

         

Contact: carolin.hirt@univie.ac.at // +43-1-4277-49-482 

Carolin Hirt is a doctoral researcher within the ERC-funded research project “TwinPolitics”. Her doctoral research focuses on critically examining and modeling the development of the EU Digital Twin of the Ocean (DTO) exploring how, why, and by whom the EU DTO is developed. Her academic interests lie at the intersection of science and politics, with previous work addressing ocean circulation, climate policy, and carbon dioxide removal technologies in the EU.

Carolin holds a master’s degree in political science and a bachelor’s degree in meteorology, both from the University of Vienna, as well as a bachelor’s degree in marketing communication from the SRH Berlin School of Design and Communication.

Wenwen Lyu BA MA

Doctoral Researcher in the ERC project TwinPolitics

Joined the team in November 2024

Contact: wenwen.lyu@unvie.ac.at // +43-1-4277-49-484

Wenwen Lyu is a doctoral researcher at the Department of Political Science of the University of Vienna. 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.

Before joining the University of Vienna, she has received a dual master degree in International Relations from Renmin University of China and in European Integration from Vrije Universiteit Brussel. During her studies, she interned and worked with international organizations, including UNFCCC, UNIDO, and FAO, engaging in development project management.

 

Felix Nütz, BA MA

Doctoral Researcher in the ERC project TwinPolitics

Joined the team in November 2024

Contact: felix.nuetz@univie.ac.at // +43-1-4277-49-479

Felix Nütz is a doctoral researcher within the ERC-funded research project “TwinPolitics”. His research focuses on the ongoing international negotiations for a global plastics treaty, analyzing different forms of selectivity and their impact on the policymaking process. He has previous experience working in environmental policy on topics of plastics governance, citizen science and local climate policies, amongst others. Felix holds a master’s degree in political science from Freie Universität Berlin, Germany, where he already completed his bachelor’s in the same field.

Key publications

  • Nütz, Felix, and Elizaveta Kapinos. “Interview with Manuel Fischer and Paúl Cisneros: A Conflict of Priorities, Not of Knowledge.” The Environment in Global Sustainability Governance. Bristol University Press, 2023. 122-124. https://doi.org10.56687/9781529228021-012

 

Felix Wurm

Research assistant in the ERC project TwinPolitics

Joined the team in April 2023

Contact: felix.wurm@univie.ac.at

Felix Wurm is a Bachelor student of political science at the University of Vienna, with an earlier background in financial law and joined the team in March 2023 as a student assistant within the Europe Horizon MARCO-BOLO project. Being part of the TwinPolitics project since July 2024, he will support the project’s start-up phase. Currently his focus lies on European environmental policy and biodiversity data use, primarily working with quantitative methods to conduct his research.

  • Langlet, Arne, Wurm, Felix, Vadrot, Alice B.M., Pade, Nicolas, Vidal, Mathilde, Lear, Dan, Bergami, C., Morais, D., Onoufriou, A., Nowe, J. (2025). Addressing Challenges in the Biodiversity Monitoring Data Ecosystem, MARCO-BOLO, Policy Brief.

Hristina Talkova BA

Research assistant in the ERC project TwinPolitics

Joined the team in June 2025

         

Contact: hristina.talkova@univie.ac.at

Hristina Talkova is a Master student of Political Science at the University of Vienna with an earlier background of public international law and European law. Prior to joining TwinPolitics as a research assistant, Hristina specialised in space law during her studies and worked for three years in the Public International Law Division at the Legal Services Department of the European Space Agency in Paris, France. She has also worked at the Department of European, International and Comparative Law at the University of Vienna as a student and research assistant, as well as student administrative coordinator for an educational non-profit organisation set up by the Ministry of Education and Science (MON) of the Republic of Bulgaria. Hristina additionally completed a bachelor’s degree in Political Science at the University of Vienna, with a bachelor thesis on space resource exploitation and the common heritage of humankind principle.

Key publications

  • Ferrazzani, Marco, Talkova, Hristina & Malinowska, Katarzyna (2024). Regulating Space Data Management. In: A. Cortesi (Ed.) Space Data Management. Studies in Big Data, vol 141. Singapore: Springer (pp.141-162). https://doi-org.uaccess.univie.ac.at/10.1007/978-981-97-0041-7_9
  • Ferrazzani, Marco & Talkova, Hristina (2024) Legal Perspectives for New Space Business Ventures in Europe. In B. Bartóki-Gönczy & G. Sulyok (Eds.) The New Space Age: Legal and Policy Perspectives. Budapest: Ludovika University Press (pp. 17-33). https://doi.org/10.36250/01208_02

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Administrative Staff

Julia Chapotot–Necker BA MA

Research Coordinator

Joined the team in July 2023

Contact: julia.chapotot-necker@univie.ac.at // +43-1-4277-49-480

Julia Chapotot–Necker is a research coordinator and is responsible for the daily operational, administrative and financial operations as well as for the internal and external communication activities of the project.
She holds a Bachelor degree in European Studies from Maastricht University in the Netherlands and a Master degree in Political Sciences from the University of Vienna. Before joining the EPRG, she has worked in the non-profit sector for organisations such as Amnesty International and Ehe Ohne Grenzen as a coordinator.

Philipp Baun BA MA

Communication Manager

Joined the team in April 2025

Contact: philipp.baun@univie.ac.at // +43-1-4277-49-485

Philipp Baun is a communication manager and project manager, responsible for communications, press relations and administrative support surrounding TwinPolitics and MARCO-BOLO.

He holds a Master degree from Stockholm University in Environmental Social Sciences and previously worked as an editor with Springer Nature and as an Event Manager in different positions in Heidelberg, Germany.