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

迄今为止，对地球工程的研究主要集中在伦理框架、潜在的国际治理机制和公众认知上，但却忽视了对地球工程为什么作为一种合法政策选择而出现的更深层次的理论分析，以及在特定国家背景下地球工程政策的发展。人类活动在地球系统过程中起着至关重要的作用，这一认识引发了地缘政治中重要的理论辩论，随着行星过程成为这些讨论的核心，地缘政治越来越被理解为“地球政治”。这个博士论文项目将为我们对地球工程政策发展的理解提供新的知识，并为政治地理学中关于专家在塑造地缘政治中的作用的文献做出贡献。学生将与兰德公司、学术机构、财团和非政府组织合作，讨论地球工程研究和政策。提供对地球工程更清晰的理解将有助于决策者、政府机构和非政府组织更好地理解其复杂而重要的政策格局。作为博士论文研究改进奖，该奖项还将提供支持，使有前途的学生建立一个强大的独立研究生涯。大多数关于地球工程的文献可以分为四类：科学和技术问题；伦理问题;讨论国际法、国际规范和国际治理；以及公众的看法。在这个项目中，研究人员将解决三个核心问题：(1)为什么地球工程最近在一些工业化国家成为越来越合法的政策选择？(2)美国当代地球工程政策格局的构成是什么？(3)智库和学术机构对地球工程政策的讨论进展如何？学生将采用三管齐下的方法，包括宏观尺度，对近期地球工程兴起的理论探索，绘制美国地球工程政策景观的中观尺度话语分析，以及通过机构人种学和深入的半结构化专家访谈，在更精细的尺度上对这些理论和话语分析进行基础。因为这是一个基于经验的项目，它考察了一个民族国家内的地球工程政策发展，它将为其他国家背景下的研究人员提供一个模型，从而扩大对世界各地地球工程政策的理解。

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.