Biography
Thomas Hale
Associate Professor in Public Policy (Global Public Policy)
Dr Thomas Hale’s research explores how we can manage transnational problems effectively and fairly. He seeks to explain how political institutions evolve – or not – to face the challenges raised by globalisation and interdependence, with a particular emphasis on environmental, economic and health issues. He holds a PhD in Politics from Princeton University, a master's degree in Global Politics from the London School of Economics, and an AB in public policy from Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson School. A US national, Dr Hale has studied and worked in Argentina, China and Europe. His books include Beyond Gridlock (Polity 2017), Between Interests and Law: The Politics of Transnational Commercial Disputes (Cambridge 2015), Transnational Climate Change Governance (Cambridge 2014), and Gridlock: Why Global Cooperation Is Failing when We Need It Most (Polity 2013). Dr Hale leads the Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker and co-leads the Net Zero Tracker.
New publications
- with Stephen M. Smith, Richard Black, Kate Cullen, Byron Fay, John Lang & Saba Mahmood (2022) Assessing the rapidly-emerging landscape of net zero targets, Climate Policy, 22:1, 18-29, DOI: 10.1080/14693062.2021.2013155
- with Fankhauser, S., Smith, S.M., Allen, M. et al. The meaning of net zero and how to get it right. Nat. Clim. Chang. 12, 15–21 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-021-01245-w
- with Chuyu Liu and Johannes Urpelainen, “Supply and demand for clean power in the Belt and Road: Comparing the Political Economy of Pakistan and Indonesia,” ISEP-SAIS, January 2022.
- “Governing Net Zero: The Conveyor Belt,” Blavatnik School of Government Policy Brief, November 29, 2021.
- with Calder Tsuyuki-Tomlinson, Andrew Higham, and Poorti Sapatnekar, “A vision for the global climate action ecosystem,” Future of Climate Cooperation, November 2021.
- with Andreas Klasen, Norman Ebner, Bianca Krämer, Anastasia Kantzelis, “Towards net zero export credit: Current approaches and next steps,” Blavatnik School of Government Working Paper, July 26, 2021.
- with Richard Black, “The end of the beginning of net zero,” BusinessGreen, November 4, 2021.
- Our Common Agenda – Governing the Future? Global Policy. September 10, 2021.
- with Paasha Mahdvi et al. 2021. “Using Earnings Calls to Understand the Political Behavior of Major Polluters.” Global Environmental Politics. Forthcoming.
- with Rafael Goldszmidt et al. “Protective Behaviors Against COVID-19 by Individual Vaccination Status in 12 Countries During the Pandemic”. JAMA Netw Open. 2021;4(10):e2131137. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.31137
- with Jen Allan et al. “Making the Paris Agreement: Historical Processes and the Drivers of Institutional Design.” Political Studies. October 2021. doi:10.1177/00323217211049294
- with Jessica Green et al. (2021). “Transition, hedge, or resist? Understanding political and economic behavior toward decarbonization in the oil and gas industry,” Review of International Political Economy, DOI: 10.1080/09692290.2021.1946708
- with Anna Petherick et al. “A worldwide assessment of changes in adherence to COVID-19 protective behaviours and hypothesized pandemic fatigue.” Nat Hum Behav 5, 1145–1160 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-021-01181-x
- Hale et al. (2021) Government responses and COVID-19 deaths: Global evidence across multiple pandemic waves. PLOS ONE 16(7): e0253116. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0253116
Contact
thomas.hale@bsg.ox.ac.uk
Research
I am interested in problems that span national boundaries and the political institutions that seek to solve them. Globalisation and interdependence challenge the ability of states and international organisations to provide the public goods on which global peace, prosperity and welfare depend. Governments are unable to meet the basic needs of citizens without cooperating across boundaries, but cooperation has also become more difficult as problems penetrate deeper into societies. At the same time, a host of new actors ranging from private groups to sub-components of states has come to play a greater role in global governance. My research aims to track and explain these changes, and to imagine how we might effectively and democratically tackle the fundamental political transformations globalisation has unleashed.
Publications
Articles in peer-reviewed journals
- with Stephen M. Smith, Richard Black, Kate Cullen, Byron Fay, John Lang & Saba Mahmood (2022) Assessing the rapidly-emerging landscape of net zero targets, Climate Policy, 22:1, 18-29, DOI: 10.1080/14693062.2021.2013155
- with Fankhauser, S., Smith, S.M., Allen, M. et al. The meaning of net zero and how to get it right. Nat. Clim. Chang. 12, 15–21 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-021-01245-w
- with Paasha Mahdvi et al. 2021. “Using Earnings Calls to Understand the Political Behavior of Major Polluters.” Global Environmental Politics. Forthcoming.
- with Rafael Goldszmidt et al. “Protective Behaviors Against COVID-19 by Individual Vaccination Status in 12 Countries During the Pandemic”. JAMA Netw Open. 2021;4(10):e2131137. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.31137
- with Jen Allan et al. “Making the Paris Agreement: Historical Processes and the Drivers of Institutional Design.” Political Studies. October 2021. doi:10.1177/00323217211049294
- with Jessica Green et al. (2021). “Transition, hedge, or resist? Understanding political and economic behavior toward decarbonization in the oil and gas industry,” Review of International Political Economy, DOI: 10.1080/09692290.2021.1946708
- with Anna Petherick et al. “A worldwide assessment of changes in adherence to COVID-19 protective behaviours and hypothesized pandemic fatigue.” Nat Hum Behav 5, 1145–1160 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-021-01181-x
- Hale et al. (2021) Government responses and COVID-19 deaths: Global evidence across multiple pandemic waves. PLOS ONE 16(7): e0253116. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0253116
- with Angela Breuggemann et al. 2021. “Changes in the incidence of invasive disease due to Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, and Neisseria meningitidis during the COVID-19 pandemic in 26 countries and territories in the Invasive Respiratory Infection Surveillance Initiative: a prospective analysis of surveillance data.” Lancet Digital Health. Volume 3 Issue 6. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2589-7500(21)00077-7
- Hale et al. 2021. “A global panel database of pandemic policies (Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker).” Nat Hum Behav 5, 529–538 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-021-01079-8
- with Sander Chan et al. (2021), Climate Ambition and Sustainable Development for a New Decade: A Catalytic Framework. Glob. Policy, 12: 245-259. https://doi.org/10.1111/1758-5899.12932
- Hale et al. (2021) Government responses and COVID-19 deaths: Global evidence across multiple pandemic waves. PLOS ONE 16(7): e0253116. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0253116
- 'Catalytic Cooperation', Global Environmental Politics, Vol. 20, No. 4, pp. 73–98.
- with Lui et al. (2020) 'Correcting course: the emission reduction potential of international cooperative initiatives', Climate Policy, DOI: 10.1080/14693062.2020.1806021.
- Hale et al. (2021) Sub- and non-state climate action: a framework to assess progress, implementation and impact, Climate Policy, 21:3, 406-420, DOI: 10.1080/14693062.2020.1828796
- with Jeffery Colgan and Jessica Green (2021). “Asset Revaluation and the Existential Politics of Climate Change.” International Organization, 75(2), 586-610. doi:10.1017/S0020818320000296
- with Kuramochi et al. 'Beyond national climate action: the impact of region, city, and business commitments on global greenhouse gas emissions.' Climate Policy, Vol 20, No. 3 (2020) pp. 275–291.
- 'Transnational Actors and Transnational Governance in Environmental Politics,' Annual Review of Political Science, Vol 23, 2020.
- with Doyne Farmer, Cameron Hepburn, et al., 'Sensitive intervention points in the post-carbon transition,' Science, 12 April 2019, 132-134.
- with Sander Chan, Idil Boran, Harro van Asselt, et al., 'Promises and risks of nonstate action in climate and sustainability governance,' WIREs Climate Change 2019.
- with Angel Hsu et al., 'A Research Roadmap for Quantifying Non-State and Subnational Climate Action.' Nature: Climate Change. 9, pp. 11–17 (2019)
- with Mathias Koenig-Archibugi, 'Could global democracy satisfy diverse policy values? An empirical analysis,' Journal of Politics, 81, no. 1 (January 2019): 112-126.
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with Liliana Andonova and Charles Roger, 'National Policy and Transnational Governance of Climate Change: Substitutes or Complements?' International Studies Quarterly
- with Jessica Green, 'Reversing the Marginalization of Global Environmental Politics in International Relations: An Opportunity for the Discipline,' PS: Political Science and Politics.
- with Charles Roger & Liliana Andonova (2017) 'The Comparative Politics of Transnational Climate Governance," International Interactions,' 43:1, pp. 1-25.
- 'International Sources of Political Order in the People’s Republic of China: A Lacuna in the Fukuyama Framework.' Journal of Chinese Governance, forthcoming.
- “All Hands on Deck”: The Paris Agreement and Nonstate Climate Action. Global Environmental Politics, Vol. 16, No. 3.
- with Mathias Koenig-Archibugi, 'Are Europeans ready for a more democratic European Union? New evidence on preference heterogeneity, polarisation and crosscuttingness,' European Journal of Political Research, forthcoming.
- 'The rule of law in the global economy: Explaining intergovernmental backing for private commercial tribunals.' European Journal of International Relations, October 7, 2014
- with Johannes Urpelainen, 'When and How Can Unilateral Policies Promote the International Diffusion of Environmental Policies and Clean Technology?' Journal of Theoretical Politics, 2014.
- with Charles Roger, 'Orchestration and Transnational Climate Governance,' Review of International Organizations, Vol 9 No 1, 2014.
- with David Held and Kevin Young, 'Gridlock: From Self-reinforcing Interdependence to Second Order Cooperation Problems,' Global Policy, Vol.4 Issue 3, 2013.
- with David Held, 'Gridlock and Innovation in Global Governance: The Partial Transnational Solution,' Global Policy, Vol. 3, Issue 2, 2012.
- 'The de Facto Free Trade Area in East Asia,' Review of International Political Economy, Vol. 18, No. 3, 2011.
- 'Transparency, Accountability, and Global Governance,' Global Governance Vol. 14, January-March 2008.
- with Denise Mauzerall, 'Thinking Globally and Acting Locally: Can the Johannesburg Partnerships Coordinate Action on Sustainable Development?' J. of Environment and Development (Sept. 2004)
Books
- with David Held, Beyond Gridlock (Polity, 2017).
- Between Interests and Law: The Politics of Transnational Commercial Disputes. Cambridge University Press, 2015.
- with Harriet Bulkeley et al., Transnational Climate Change Governance (Cambridge University Press, 2014).
- with David Held and Kevin Young, Gridlock: Why International Cooperation is Failing when It’s Needed Most (Cambridge: Polity, 2013)
Edited books and special issues
- with David Held et al., Beyond Gridlock. Cambridge: Polity, 2017.
- with Liliana Andonova, special issue of International Interactions, The Comparative Politics of Transnational Climate Governance, 43:1, 2017.
- with David Held, Handbook of Transnational Governance Innovation (Cambridge: Polity Press, 2011).
Book chapters
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with Harriet Bulkeley, Michele Betsill, Daniel Compagnon, Thomas Hale, Matthew Hoffmann, Peter Newell, and Matthew Paterson, “Transnational Governance: Charting New Directions Post-Paris,” in Andrew Jordan et al., Eds, Governing Climate Change: Polycentricity in Action? (Cambridge: 2018).
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with Charles Roger, “China and Transnational Climate Governance,” in Scott Kennedy, Ed., The Dragon’s Learning Curve (Routledge: 2017).
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“What is the Effect of Transnational Commercial Arbitration on Trade?,” in Walter Mattli and Thomas Dietz, Eds., International Arbitration and Global Governance: Contending Theories and Evidence (Oxford University Press, 2014).
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with Anne-Marie Slaughter, “International Relations, Principal Theories,” in Rudiger Wolfrom, Ed., Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law (Oxford University Press: forthcoming).
- with Charles Roger, “China and Transnational Climate Governance,” in Scott Kennedy, Ed., The Dragon’s Learning Curve (Routledge: forthcoming).
- with Anne-Marie Slaughter, “Transgovernmental Networks,” in Mark Bevir, Ed., The Handbook of Governance (Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publishing, 2010).
- with Anne-Marie Slaughter, “Transgovernmental Networks and Multilevel Governance,” in Enderlein, Henrik, Sonja Wälti, and Michael Zürn (Eds.): Handbook on Multi-Level Governance (Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar, 2010).
- with Anne-Marie Slaughter, “Transgovernmental Networks and Emerging Powers,” in Alan S. Alexandroff and Andrew F. Cooper, Eds., Rising States; Rising Institutions: Can the World Be Governed?(Washington: Brookings Press, 2010).
- with Anne-Marie Slaughter, “Calling All Patriots: the Cosmopolitan Appeal of Americanism,” in Cultural Transformations, Henrietta L. Moore and David Held, Eds. (Oneworld Press, October 2007).
- with Anne-Marie Slaughter, “A Covenant to Make Global Governance Work,” in David Held, Ed., Debating Globalization (Cambridge: Polity Press, 2005).
Selected other publications
- with Chuyu Liu and Johannes Urpelainen, “Supply and demand for clean power in the Belt and Road: Comparing the Political Economy of Pakistan and Indonesia,” ISEP-SAIS, January 2022.
- "Governing Net Zero: The Conveyor Belt,” Blavatnik School of Government Policy Brief, November 29, 2021.
- with Calder Tsuyuki-Tomlinson, Andrew Higham, and Poorti Sapatnekar, “A vision for the global climate action ecosystem,” Future of Climate Cooperation, November 2021.
- with Andreas Klasen, Norman Ebner, Bianca Krämer, Anastasia Kantzelis, “Towards net zero export credit: Current approaches and next steps,” Blavatnik School of Government Working Paper, July 26, 2021.
- Our Common Agenda – Governing the Future? Global Policy. September 10, 2021.
- with Richard Black et al. (2021). Taking Stock: A global assessment of net zero targets, Energy & Climate Intelligence Unit and Oxford Net Zero.
- with Kate Cullen et al., (2021). Leveling up net zero climate leadership in the United States. Smith School Working Paper 21-01.
- with Emily Jones et al, “Governance to support a global green deal,” Future of Climate Cooperation – Blavatnik School of Government, December 2020.
- with Andreas Klasen et al, “ Working towards a commitment to net zero,” Berne Union Annual Yearbook 2020. Berne, 2020.
- Thomas Hale, Chuyu Liu, and Johannes Urpelainen. 2020. Belt and Road Decision-making in China and Recipient Countries: How and To What Extent Does Sustainability Matter? ISEP, BSG, and ClimateWorks Foundation.
- with Nathan Hultman, '"All in" climate diplomacy: How a Biden-Harris administration can leverage city, state, business, and community climate action', The Brookings Institution, November 20, 2020.
- with Allen et al., 'The Oxford Principles for Net Zero Aligned Carbon Offsetting', Oxford Net Zero, September 2020.
- 'An immune system for the body politic: Using social science to control COVID-19', Campaign for Social Science. 8 July 2020.
- 'We really may have just 11 years to save the climate,' Oxford Government Review, November 2019
- 'Can the UK rise to the global leadership challenge on climate?,' Insidetrack, 9 July 2019
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with Jeffrey Colgan and Jessica Green, "The Existential Politics of Climate Change", Global Policy, 21 February 2019
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'Catalytic Cooperation,' Blavatnik School of Government Working Paper BSG-WP-2018/026
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“The Role of Sub-state and Nonstate Actors in International Climate Processes,” Chatham House Research Paper, November 2018
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with David Held, "Why is the anti-global backlash happening now?" Global Agenda, World Economic Forum, 29 November 2017
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with David Held, "The world is in economic, political and environmental gridlock – here’s why," The Conversation, 8 November 2017
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with David Held, "Beyond gridlock in world politics," Open Democracy, 13 October 2017
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“After Trump, the Groundswell of Global Climate Action is ever more Central to the Climate Regime.” Global Policy. November 22, 2016.
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with Harro van Asselt. “How non-state actors can contribute to more effective review processes under the Paris Agreement.” Stockholm Environment Institute Policy Brief. May 2016.
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"Trade and investment finance after Paris: Navigating the transition to universal low carbon energy." Blavatnik School Policy Memo. March 2016.
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"Ratchet Up: Five tools to lift climate action after Paris," Blavatnik School policy memo, November 2015
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with Sangjung Ha and Peter Ogden. “Climate Finance in and between Developing Countries: An Opportunity to Build on,” Global Policy, forthcoming
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with Sander Chan et al., “Reinvigorating International Climate Policy: A Comprehensive Framework for Effective Nonstate Action,” Global Policy, Vol 6., Issue 4, pp. 466-473.
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"Subsidy Phase-Out and Reform Catalyst Bonds: A New Tool to Tackle Fossil-Fuel Subsidies." With Pete Ogden. Center for American Progress report. June 2014.
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"Orchestrating global solution networks: A guide for organizational entrepreneurs." With Kenneth W. Abbott. Global Solutions Network publication. May 2014.
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"Design considerations for a registry of sub- and non-state actions in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change." With Louis Chambers. BSG Policy Memo, February 2014.
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with Kartikeya Singh, "India's Unseen Climate Leadership," India Climate Dialogue, 3 June 2014.
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"Country-to-Country Review under the Next Climate Treaty: Lessons from Other Intergovernmental Review Processes." With Max Harris. BSG Policy Memo, February 2014.
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How the UNFCCC Can Drive Climate Ambition in Advance of a Treaty: Record, Review, Reinforce, Recruit. BSG Policy Memo. October 2013.
- with David Held, "City Limits," RSA Journal, Autumn 2013, p. 20.
- with David Held and Kevin Young, “European and Global Gridlock,” E!Sharp, July, 2013.
- “A Climate Coalition of the Willing,” The Washington Quarterly, Winter 2010
- secondary author for Anne-Marie Slaughter’s The Idea that Is America: Keeping Faith with Our Values in a Dangerous World, (New York: Basic Books, 2007).
- with Georg Kell and Anne-Marie Slaughter, “Silent Reform through the Global Compact,” U.N. Chronicle, Volume 44, No. 1, 2007.
- with Anne-Marie Slaughter, “Transparency: Possibilities and Limitations,” Fletcher Forum on International Affairs (Winter 2006).
Book reviews
- The Ebb and Flow of Global Governance: Intergovernmentalism versus Nongovernmentalism in World Politics. By Alexandru Grigorescu, and The Origins of Informality: Why the Legal Foundations of Global Governance Are Shifting, and Why It Matters. By Charles B. Roger. Perspectives on Politics, Vol 8 No 4, December 2020. The Continent of International Law: Explaining Agreement Design. Barbara Koremenos. Perspectives on Politics, Vol 15, No. 1, March 2017, pp. 295-6.
- Book Review: Networks in Contention: The Divisive Politics of Climate Change, Jennifer Hadden. International Political Reviews, 3, pp. 84-93, 2015.
- First of the Year 2009, edited by Benj DeMott, Democratiya, Spring, 2009
- The Cultural Contradictions of Democracy: Political Thought since 9/11, by John Brenkman. Democratiya, Spring 2008.
- with Anne-Marie Slaughter, “Hardt and Negri’s Multitude: the Worst of Both Worlds”, openDemocracy, May 26, 2005
Commentary
- with Richard Black, “The end of the beginning of net zero,” BusinessGreen, November 4, 2021.
- with Jessica Green, “New ‘net zero’ standards could transform the climate — unless they’re derailed,” Monkey Cage / Washington Post. October 4, 2021.
- with Richard Black and Steve Smith. Net zero: despite the greenwash, it’s vital for tackling climate change. The Conversation. May 10, 2021.
- with Harro van Asselt et all, “Realizing the Promise of Paris: Three Ways of Strengthening Non-State and Subnational Climate Action,” Global Policy, December 11, 2020.
- “The Paris agreement survived the Trump administration. What happens now?” The Monkey Cage – Washington Post. December 11, 2020.
- 'The “contact budget”: a climate metaphor to make sense of COVID-19 restrictions', Blavatnik School Blog, 29 October, 2020.
- with Green et al., 'Oil companies aren’t actually going green – but some are heading there faster than others', Monkey Cage (The Washington Post), 18 September 2020.
- with Chuyu Liu and Johannes Urpelainen, 'Building back better requires a new approach to China’s Belt and Road Initiative', ISEP Blog, 25 May 2020
- 'Cooperation is key to fighting a pandemic – that's why I helped create a global coronavirus tracker', The Independent, 13 March 2020
- with Carolyn Deere-Birkbeck and Emily Jones, 'To Advance Trade and Climate Goals, "Global Britain" Must Link Them', Chatham House Expert Commentary, 19 March 2020
- 'Five tough questions to ask about reaching net zero climate targets', The Independent, 13 March 2020
- 'UK and Holyrood must unite to lead the way on climate', The Times (Scotland), 10 February 2020
- 'UN climate talks must include cities, businesses or risk irrelevance', Climate Home, 10 October 2019
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'Who should be 2019’s Climate Champion?' Climate Home, 11 January 2019.
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'Donald Trump is sacrificing the future of the planet on the altar of his own ego - but it could backfire', New Statesman, June 2, 2017.
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'Understanding China’s Domestic Agenda Can End UN Gridlock' ('读懂中国才能打破气候谈判僵局') China Dialogue, July 7, 2013.
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'Investing in reform: A new bond could beat our addiction to fossil fuel subsidies.' With Pete Ogden. Juncture. Volume 21, Issue 2, pages 169–171, Autumn 2014.
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区天伦与 托马斯·霍尔, '中国可支持地方政府的气候变化举措,'东方早抱 (上海), 2010.11.26 [with Bruce Au, 'China Can Support Local Government Action on Climate Change', Oriental Morning Post (Shanghai), November 26, 2010]. Reprinted in English as 'How to Break the Climate Change Stalemate,' China Daily, November 30, 2010.
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with Tobias Leipprand, 'Climate Diplomacy Needs a Revolution', European Voice, September 30, 2010.
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with Scott Moore, 'A Coalition of the Willing for the Climate', China Dialogue, June 1, 2010.
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'Globalising Freedom,' openDemocracy, March 15, 2005
Teaching
Master of Public Policy
I teach international cooperation within the MPP course, including a special option course on climate change solutions.
Supervising DPhil in Public Policy students
I seek doctoral students looking to combine world-leading social science with deep impact on public policy. I work with students in the field of political science with a focus on international relations and global politics and/or comparative national politics. I am particularly interested in supervising students working on questions of global economic governance, global environmental governance, or transnational governance in other issue areas.
I expect doctoral students to employ state-of-the-art social science methodologies and to tackle research questions of significant value and interest to policymakers. Students should master and deploy whatever combination of research tools, quantitative and qualitative, can best answer the question before them. Students who do not currently possess expertise in the relevant methodologies and skills (e.g. statistical analysis, case study analysis, archival and interview techniques, languages, modeling, programming, etc.) should expect to invest significantly in them during the first years of their doctoral work. I expect all students to read widely across their disciplinary fields and deeply in a number of subfields, as well as in the relevant policy literature. Developing a sophisticated understanding of research design is of paramount importance, as is an appreciation for the dynamics of policy work.
Per Blavatnik School policy, please do not contact me when you are applying or considering applying. The School asks applicants not to contact faculty directly, but to send in a summary of their research proposal along with a CV that will be forwarded to the appropriate member of the faculty. This process ensures that all enquiries can be tracked and responded to. I am not able to comment on the particulars of research proposals in advance of application.
