My interdisciplinary research contributes to scholarly and policy debates about understanding ways in which states and other actors engage each other and shape international environmental policy-making and institution-building. It also focuses on efforts to analyze and advance sustainability on a human-dominated planet. I earned a BA/MA in political science and my PhD in an environmental studies department with a concentration in international environmental policy. I have always valued and sought out opportunities for research collaboration with scholars from both the social and natural sciences. This approach to scholarship is rooted in my deep interest in meaningful interdisciplinary work and combining different research methods and scientific data to address real-world problems. My research collaborations have not only made me a better researcher and author, but also a more skilled teacher and journal editor.
My research contributes to theory-building and empirical knowledge creation in the interdisciplinary fields of environmental policy-making and sustainability analysis. Societal transitions towards greater sustainability require deeper knowledge about the processes by which different actors interact and build institutions. My work combines a range of research approaches and methods, including process tracing, document analysis, personal interviews with policy-makers and stakeholders, and personal observations at international political meetings and treaty negotiations. My past training and research allow me to draw on theories and analytical perspectives from the social sciences while using research and environmental data from the natural sciences to inform and deepen my analysis. I conduct research into societal problems related to policy-making and institution-building for protecting the environment and human health as a critical part of advancing sustainability within three main empirical areas: i) international management of hazardous substances and wastes: ii) regional environmental policy-making with a focus on Europe and North America; and iii) global cooperation on sustainable development.
All my publications related to my three areas of research are listed on my CV and an up-to-date list of publications is also available on this website under “Publications.”
