21 November 2024 / Research, Doctorate/PhD, People, Info

SNSF Starting Grants for Prof. Dr. Janina Grabs, Dr. Matthias Leanza und Dr. Luregn Lenggenhager

Three projects from the Department of Social Sciences each receive around CHF 1.7 million in funding

Prof. Dr. Janina Grabs investigates the impact of sustainability legislation in the coffee, cocoa and palm oil supply chains. What expectations do these laws create between regulators and companies trading in these commodities? And how do these expectations, in turn, influence the shift toward more sustainable agriculture? Janina Grabs and her team at the Department of Social Sciences will be investigating these questions from January 2025. The results should help policymakers to pursue more effective sustainability policies.

Dr. Matthias Leanza examines the emergence of modernization theory in the United States in the 1950s. After World War II, the former colonial powers lost influence over their colonies, which sought independence. This "crisis of empires" gave rise to modernization theory, which saw this development in the light of a transition from "tradition" to "modernity" and saw independent nation-states as a replacement for colonial empires. Starting in January 2025, Matthias Leanza and his team at the Department of Social Sciences will examine the impact of this theory on the position of former colonies and how it has contributed to shaping the global order of the past 70 years.

Dr. Luregn Lenggenhager's project "Curated Escapes and Derelict Landscapes in Times of Climate Change” investigates where the wealthy are retreating from the consequences of the climate crisis. Far-reaching environmental changes caused by climate change are leading to land degradation. Some areas are becoming increasingly uninhabitable. At the same time, the elite are creating exclusive escapes for themselves, from private islands and wildlife sanctuaries to virtual worlds. Starting September 1, 2025, Lenggenhager and his team at the Department of Social Sciences will analyze the colonial historical and racial-ideological origins of such escapes. The researchers want to explore the significance of such places for social inequality and the political consequences of climate change.