In my current project, I argue that discussions based on scientific and technical arguments obscure the fact that opposition to infrastructure and renewable energy policies and projects is often rooted in deeply held beliefs, identities, and place‑based attachments.
Specifically, I investigate how various human‑nature value orientations shape decision-making processes around Alpine renewable energy projects, and assess how distributional, procedural, and recognition justice affect this relationship.
In my dissertation, supervised by Prof. Ellen M. Immergut,
I adopted a discursive lens to empirically investigate processes of cultural change as initiated by social movements using the case of Switzerland (1974-2024). I assessed the capacity of
social movement organisations to initiate changes in the discursive field of the environment and explored how and why these discursive shifts affected public opinion and political participation.
Apart from my own projects, I collaborate with Dr. Laura Gatto (Université de Lausanne) to examine the role of justice in
shaping public support for carbon taxation.