Doctoral Dissertation: A Changing Geoengineering Policy Landscape in the United States

Clark University, Worcester MA

Investigators

Abstract

Research on geoengineering has thus far focused on ethical frameworks, potential international governance mechanisms and public perception but has neglected both a deeper theoretical analysis regarding why geoengineering is emerging as a legitimate policy option, and the development of geoengineering policy in particular national contexts. The understanding that human activity plays a crucial role in earth system processes has prompted important theoretical debates in geopolitics which is increasingly being understood as "earth politics" as planetary processes become central to these discussions. This doctoral dissertation project will generate new knowledge in our understanding of geoengineering policy development and contribute to the literature in political geography on the role of experts in shaping geopolitics. The student will work collaboratively with RAND Corporation, academic institutions, consortia, and non-governmental organizations to discuss geoengineering research and policy. Providing a clearer understanding about geoengineering will help decision-makers, government agencies and non-governmental organizations to better understand its intricate and important policy landscapes. As a Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement award, this award also will provide support to enable a promising student to establish a strong independent research career. The majority of literature about geoengineering falls into four categories: scientific and technical questions; ethical concerns; discussion of international law, norms and governance; and public perception. In this project the investigators will address three core questions: (1) Why has geoengineering recently emerged as an increasingly legitimate policy option in a number of industrialized nation states? (2) What is the composition of the contemporary geoengineering policy landscape in the United States? (3) How are geoengineering policy discussions developing at think tanks and academic institutions? The student will adopt a three-pronged approach that will include a macro-scale, theoretical exploration of the recent rise of geoengineering, a meso-scale discursive analysis that maps the geoengineering policy landscape in the US, and a grounding of these theoretical and discursive analyses at a finer scale through institutional ethnography and in-depth, semi-structured interviews with experts. Because this is an empirically rooted project that examines geoengineering policy development within a nation-state it will serve as a model for researchers in other national contexts thus broadening understandings of geoengineering policy around the world.