Papers by Karsten Schulz
Earth System Governance (online first), 2020
The rapid development of digital technologies such as blockchain and distributed ledger-based sys... more The rapid development of digital technologies such as blockchain and distributed ledger-based systems holds transformative potential for the financial sector. Promising applications include asset management as well as peer-to-peer networks for the transparent exchange of data and information. International climate finance stands to benefit in particular ways from these new opportunities in financial technology. Distributed ledger technologies could be leveraged to support climate action, for example by facilitating transparent and standardized transactions, or by enabling more efficient monitoring and accreditation processes. In view of these promising opportunities, we focus our inquiry on the case of the Green Climate Fund to explore how distributed ledger technologies can be used for innovative climate finance. Based on our analysis of different digital system models and potential use cases, we then discuss some of the technical and political challenges that may arise, for example with regard to standards and safeguards , governance processes, country ownership, and further capitalization. Our findings show that distributed ledger-based systems could benefit the work of the fund in key areas such as multi-stakeholder coordination and impact assessment. However, our analysis also points to the concrete limitations of technology driven solutions. Digital technologies are not a standalone solution to persistent resource allocation and governance challenges in international climate finance, especially because the design and deployment of these digital systems is inherently political.
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Futures, 2020
Societies at large still grapple to categorize digital space as a phenomenon. At the same time, s... more Societies at large still grapple to categorize digital space as a phenomenon. At the same time, scientists and developers are searching for innovative methods to better understand how the fundamental shifts caused by digital change will affect the future of humanity over the coming decades. Interdisciplinary governance research at the intersection of technological and environmental foresight is urgently needed to minimize the risks of technological change and explore how digitalization may support, hinder or reshape sustainability transformations. In this article, we focus on the case of 'blockchain' or distributed-ledger technology (DLT) to investigate how recent digital technologies may support the implementation of sustainable development initiatives. Our investigation is centered on areas of public administration and governance which will most likely see an adoption of DLT over the next two decades, such as digital identity, social service provision, and innovative climate finance. To allow for a meaningful comparison of various use cases, we propose four guiding questions that can help researchers, decision-makers and practitioners to determine whether DLT might be an appropriate choice for the sustainability-related task at hand. Moreover, we illustrate how the initial design and subsequent implementation of DLTs may support more centralized or networked modes of governance.
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Current debates about the Anthropocene have sparked renewed interest in the relationship between ... more Current debates about the Anthropocene have sparked renewed interest in the relationship between ecology, technology, and coloniality. How do humans relate to one another, to the living environment, and to their material or technological artifacts; and how are these relations structured by coloniality, defined not only as a material process of appropriation and subjugation, but also as an exclusionary hierarchy of knowing and being that still pervades contemporary life? While these questions have of course received attention in decolonial theory, they have also captured the interest of scholars who self-identify with the field of political ecology. However, it can be argued that political ecology still primarily adheres to research practices and paradigms that have been developed in the West, regardless of its diversity and dynamism as a field of research. It is therefore suggested that a rapprochement between decolonial theory and political ecology can open up new perspectives on current debates that are emerging around the concept of the Anthropocene. In particular, the article takes the recent interest in the ontological implications of the Anthropocene as a point of departure to bring the decolonial notion of 'border thinking' into a conversation with the so-called 'new materialism' in political ecology. While both approaches are not necessarily opposed to values grounded in rationality, they can be seen as attempts to rethink ontological divisions such as human/nature or subject/object based on 'enchanted' ways of knowing and being-in-the-world. Yet, although enchantment has the potential to counter inherently colonial practices of appropriation, commodification and objectification, it is argued that keeping a moderately critical distance to enchanted narratives is still recommended, not because of the alleged naïveté of such narratives, but rather because enchantments may also function as and through technologies of power.
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Handbook of Climate Change Adaptation, 2014
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It has been repeatedly pointed out that ‘transformative’ adaptation may be a promising approach t... more It has been repeatedly pointed out that ‘transformative’ adaptation may be a promising approach to reconcile the need to tackle the socio-economic root causes of vulnerability with pertinent calls for systemic change and repoliticisation. The paper responds to these controversial discussions about the political goals of adaptation in a twofold fashion. On the one hand, it draws on the cross-cutting research themes of norms, knowledge and power to discuss the different ways in which the need for ‘transformative’ adaptation is being articulated in the literature on climate change adaptation. On the other hand, it focuses on the argument that a transformative approach to adaptation is a necessary response to countervail the depoliticising effects that are commonly associated with the ‘post-political’ condition of climate politics.
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This paper aims to advance understanding of transformations towards sustainability, recognising i... more This paper aims to advance understanding of transformations towards sustainability, recognising it as both a normative and an analytical concept. We firstly review existing concepts of transformation in global environmental change literature, and the role of governance in relation to it. We then propose a framework or understanding and critically analysing transformations towards sustainability.
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Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions, 2017
The notion of ‘transformations towards sustainability’ takes an increasingly central position in ... more The notion of ‘transformations towards sustainability’ takes an increasingly central position in global sustainability research and policy discourse in recent years. Governance and politics are central to understanding and analysing transformations towards sustainability.However, despite receiving growing attention in recent years, the governance and political aspects of transformations remain arguably under-developed in the global sustainability literature. A variety of conceptual approaches have been developed to understand and analyse societal transition or transformation processes, including: socio-technical transitions, social-ecological systems, sustainability pathways, and transformative adaptation.This paper critically surveys these four approaches, and reflects on them through the lens of the Earth System Governance framework (Biermann et al., 2009). This contributes to appreciating existing insights on transformations, and to identifying key research challenges and opportunities. Overall, the paper brings together diverse perspectives, that have so far remained largely fragmented, in order to strengthen the foundation for future research on transformations towards sustainability.
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Annual Review of Social Partnerships, 2017
Current environmental problems are often extremely complex, uncertain, and affecting multiple act... more Current environmental problems are often extremely complex, uncertain, and affecting multiple actors and institutions across sectors and scales. Earth System Governance (ESG) is a field of research that is highly relevant for understanding social interactions across scales and sectors and addressing complex problems. ESG refers to the broad collection of formal and informal rules, mechanisms, and networks ranging from the local to the global scale which deal with environmental changes1. ESG can be seen as both an empirical phenomenon and as a political project2. It refers to a social phenomenon observed in the interactions and activities of many international regimes, bureaucracies, local and transnational activists groups, and expert networks. At the same time, it is also a political effort to unite stakeholders, aiming to strengthen the institutions and networks addressing complex governance challenges associated with ESG. Participatory research is one very important way to appeal to ESG both as a social phenomenon - as a way to better understand the complex empirical dynamics associated with ESG – and as a political endeavour – by engaging different stakeholders in (academic) research and fostering processes of learning.
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This working paper examines the concept of metabolism and its potential as a critical analytical ... more This working paper examines the concept of metabolism and its potential as a critical analytical lens to study the contemporary city from a political perspective. The paper illustrates how the metabolism concept has been used historically, both as a metaphor to describe the technological, social, political and economic dimensions of human-environment relations, and as a concrete analytical tool to quantify and better understand how flows of matter and energy shape the territorial and spatial configurations of cityscapes. Drawing on the example of the urban water metabolism of the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA), the paper shows how the metabolism concept can be applied to study the politics of water in the city.
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Ihne H/Wilhelm J (2013) Einführung in die Entwicklungspolitik (introduction to development politics). Bonn: Bundeszentrale für Politische Bildung (bpb Schriftenreihe Bd. 1338), 126-152, Jun 15, 2013
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Book Chapters by Karsten Schulz
Critical Epistemologies of Global Politics. Edited by Marc Woons and Sebastian Weier. Bristol: E-International Relations Publishing, pp. 46-62, Jun 2017
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In: Yaro, J.A. and Hesselberg, J. (eds.): Adaptation to climate change and variability in rural W... more In: Yaro, J.A. and Hesselberg, J. (eds.): Adaptation to climate change and variability in rural West Africa. Springer International Publishing: Cham, 171-189.
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Books by Karsten Schulz
This book provides the first cross-sectoral analysis of how adaptation policy in Ghana is put int... more This book provides the first cross-sectoral analysis of how adaptation policy in Ghana is put into practice, from the translation and mainstreaming of international adaptation discourses to their concrete application in rural and urban settings. Focusing on the links between adaptation, disaster risk reduction and sustainable development, it is argued that the implementation of adaptive responses across sectors and scales requires a holistic understanding of institutional dynamics to tackle the root causes of vulnerability. The book introduces the concept of institutional adaptation pathways to systematically integrate social science research into scenario planning and risk assessment practices.
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It has become abundantly clear in recent years that the rapid loss of fertile soils as well as th... more It has become abundantly clear in recent years that the rapid loss of fertile soils as well as the negative impacts of drought and climate change on agriculture are severely endangering human well-being, particularly in rural dryland areas. Nevertheless, despite the numerous calls for a more integrated and coordinated approach to anthropogenic global change, the multiple aspects of desertification and climate change are still understood in rather ‘atomistic’ terms. Based on a comprehensive analysis of the changing role, structure and policies of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), this book investigates potential synergies and conflicts between the desertification convention and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
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Presentations by Karsten Schulz
Conference Presentation: 2018 Utrecht Conference on Earth System Governance. Journal article fort... more Conference Presentation: 2018 Utrecht Conference on Earth System Governance. Journal article forthcoming in Futures (2020).
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Call for Applications by Karsten Schulz
The Governance and Sustainability Lab at Trier University, Germany, is now inviting applications ... more The Governance and Sustainability Lab at Trier University, Germany, is now inviting applications for its 2017 Summer University, which will take place June 6-12, 2017. Applications are invited from advanced doctoral students and postdoctoral researchers as well as from early career professionals working in geography, urban studies, urban planning, political science, international relations, development studies, gender studies, native studies, cultural studies, sociology, ecology and related fields.
Participants will explore the theme of 'decolonizing urbanism' through a mixture of public lectures, seminar sessions, advanced skills trainings, excursions, and cultural activities. The Summer University will be held in English. The deadline for applications is January 31, 2017.
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Papers by Karsten Schulz
Book Chapters by Karsten Schulz
Books by Karsten Schulz
Presentations by Karsten Schulz
Call for Applications by Karsten Schulz
Participants will explore the theme of 'decolonizing urbanism' through a mixture of public lectures, seminar sessions, advanced skills trainings, excursions, and cultural activities. The Summer University will be held in English. The deadline for applications is January 31, 2017.
Participants will explore the theme of 'decolonizing urbanism' through a mixture of public lectures, seminar sessions, advanced skills trainings, excursions, and cultural activities. The Summer University will be held in English. The deadline for applications is January 31, 2017.