Dr. Tobias Zumbrägel
PostDoc at the Institute of Geography at Heidelberg University, HCE member since 2023.
I primarily conduct research through a political ecology lens, with a particular regional focus on the Middle East and North Africa. My work seeks to address key questions such as:
- How are energy transitions reshaping power relations within and between states, and what are the broader implications for global energy markets?
- In what ways do environmental governance frameworks reflect or reinforce existing power hierarchies, and how do these dynamics affect marginalized communities’ access to vital resources like water and energy?
- How do states construct and sustain legitimacy while navigating complex environmental and energy-related challenges?
- How do environmental degradation, climate change, and resource politics intersect to foster new forms of regional cooperation or conflict?
Why I joined the HCE
Particularly in climate and environmental research, interdisciplinary approaches across the fields of natural and social sciences are essential to comprehensively understand and analyze the multifaceted aspects of this 'grand challenge' of the 21st century. As a political scientist, I greatly benefit from this exchange of knowledge and the networks of the HCE.
My highlights so far
At the beginning of 2024, I had the rewarding opportunity to receive support through the HCE ExU Funds for Seed Initiatives. This funding enabled me to organize, in collaboration with colleagues from the Geography Department, a workshop titled Hydrosocial Dynamics in Energy Transitions and New Water Governance Proposals – Examples from MENA and Latin America. The workshop proved to be an excellent platform for fostering exploratory and comparative insights into this critical topic. This experience was particularly fulfilling as it facilitated interdisciplinary exchange, expanded my academic network, and contributed to advancing knowledge on hydrosocial challenges and governance in diverse regional contexts.
My key partners
In addition to the close exchange with numerous researchers at the HCE, countless esteemed institutions and individuals have been integral to my research and have played a crucial role in advancing my work and fostering interdisciplinary engagement. These include the Cluster of Excellence for Climate, Climatic Change, and Society (CLICCS) and the German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA) in Hamburg, the Center for Applied Research in Partnership with the Orient (CARPO) in Bonn, the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) in Berlin, the Peace Research Institute Frankfurt (PRIFS), the Arnold Bergstraesser Institute (ABI) in Freiburg and the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg. Internationally, this includes the London School of Economics and Political Science, Syracuse University, and George Washington University in the United States, as well as the Arab Reform Initiative (ARI) in Beirut, the King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center (KAPSARC) in Riyadh, the Anwar Gargash Institute in Abu Dhabi, Qatar University, and the Derasat Institute in Bahrain.