“Sustainability now depends, more than ever, on our ability to take ambitious policy action and transform political institutions”

I am an interdisciplinary social scientist working at the intersection of sustainability, public policy, and comparative politics. My research examines the policy, politics, and governance of complex public good problems – especially climate change – at national and subnational scales. This centres on the interaction between policy, institutions, and civil society within processes of societal transformation. I pursue three key lines of study: 

1. The politics of policy action, at both policy adoption and post-adoption stages. I examine policy backlash (involving elites and mass publics), legitimacy, policy feedback, and contestation. 
2. Processes of institutional change to adapt and transform institutions. I examine how and why institutions are ‘remade’ in response to changing contexts and needs. 
3. The politics and governance of sustainability transformations. I especially focus on the role of the state and public authority in advancing ambitious action within diverse and heterogeneous societies.

I am the Principal Investigator of a 5-year project funded by the European Research Council (2021-2026): ‘Climate Backlash: Contentious Reactions to Policy Action (BACKLASH)’ (grant no. 949332), investigating backlash to climate policy in advanced industrial democracies. The project team involves three PhD researchers conducting in-depth comparative case analysis (Australia, Canada, France, United Kingdom) and medium-N analysis of OECD countries. 

Selected publications:

Unraveling the conditions for post-adoption contestation over hard climate policy in OECD countries (in npj Climate Action)

We analyse the conditions under which contestation over hard climate policy occurs in 27 OECD countries. This adds crucial cross-case evidence on the actual conditions ('ex post') driving policy contestation, which is usually inferred based on prior surveys. We find that policy demandingness (burden on target actors) and perceptions of unfairness are key conditions under which strong policy contestation occurs. 

Reactions to policy action: socio‐political conditions of backlash to climate change policy (in Policy Sciences)

We analyse conditions under which backlash against climate policy arises (spanning economic, cultural, and practical dimensions). We apply this framework to three comparative cases: Canada, France, and Mexico. We observe that backlash occurs under combinations of conditions, which can differ greatly between cases. This helps advance comparative analysis of backlash politics. 

Public responses to hard climate policies and the prevalence of contention (in Climate Policy)

We systematically assess the prevalence of backlash in OECD countries over a 15 year period to inform growing debates about backlash in climate politics with empirical evidence. We observe a low prevalence of backlash, but when it occurs it can be highly impactful. We suggest that policymakers should not be automatically fearful of using hard climate policies (eg regulation, taxation/pricing, phase-outs). 

Embracing the politics of transformation: Policy action as “battle-settlement events” (in Review of Policy Research)

We argue that policy action for societal transformations is often conflictual, and challenges common expectations (such as patterns of change via S-curves). We propose to see transformations as involving a series of ‘battle-settlement events’ (i.e., successive rounds of policy conflict). We demonstrate this approach through cases of energy system change in the United Kingdom and Australia.

Negotiating Discord in Sustainability Transformations (in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences)

We argue that thinking on sustainability transformations relies too much on unrealistic assumptions of consensus, political will, and win-win solutions. We instead propose an approach focused on finding ‘partial political settlements’ – imperfect and uncomfortable compromises – that can help to move forward transformative action in the face of deep sociopolitical divisions. 

Backlash to Climate Policy (in Global Environmental Politics)

I examine why and how policy backlash arises in response to 'hard' climate policy (eg regulation, taxes/pricing, and phaseouts). Drawing on insights from policy, politics, and social movements, I argue that backlash is driven by contested legitimacy of policy action. This provides a key conceptual foundation for comparative empirical analysis on the emergence, dynamics, and effects of backlash in climate politics.

Scientific leadership

Member of the Scientific Steering Committee of the Earth System Governance Project (2019-present); Co-Chair from 2019-2021. 

Domain Editor (Policy and Governance) for Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change. 

Section Editor (Governance) for Global Sustainability (Cambridge University Press)

Teaching

Master:

• Track Coordinator (Earth System Governance track), Masters of Sustainable Development programme
• Research Design (GEO4-2314)
• Master Thesis Sustainable Development (GEO4-2321)

Bachelor:

• Research Skills (GEO1-2415)
• Sustainable Land Use (GEO3-2121)