Dr. Judith Nora Hardt | Researcher

Environment, climate, energy: Societies and their ecological challenges
Centre Marc Bloch, Friedrichstraße 191, D-10117 Berlin
Email: judith.hardt  ( at )  cmb.hu-berlin.de Tel: +49(0) 30 / 20 93 70700

Home Institution : Centre Marc Bloch und Institut für Friedensforschung und Sicherheitspolitik | Position : Postdoctoral Researcher | Disciplines : Political Science |

Biography

Academic Qualifications

Dr. phil. (PhD) International Relations

DEA (equivalent M.A.) International Relations, International Law and History of Law

B. Sc. International Forest Ecosystem Management

 

Bio

Judith Nora Hardt works as a postdoctoral researcher with the Franco-German research centre for social sciences Centre Marc Bloch. In 2014, Judith received her PhD (Dr. Phil) in International Relations from the University of the Basque Country (Spain). She worked as a lecturer in International Relations, Nature Conservation and Socioeconomics at the Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development (Germany) and has been part of the research group “Climate Change and Security” at the University of Hamburg since 2017. She is also an associated researcher at the Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy. Since March 1st 2021, she has been the project manager of the three-year Franco-German project Multiple Crises: Covid-19 and the Entanglements of Public Health, Security and Ecology in Europe, funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. She is active in the Network of Scientists for Future.

Among her books and peer-reviewed publications are: Hardt, Judith Nora: Environmental Security in the Anthropocene. Assessing Theory and Practice (London: Routledge, 2018); “Encounters between Security and the Earth System Sciences: Planetary Boundaries and Hothouse Earth”, in Chandler, David, Rothe, Delf and Mueller, Franziska (eds.) International Relations in the Anthropocene: New Actors, new Agencies and new approaches (London: Palgrave, 2021); "The United Nations Security Council at the Forefront of (Climate) Change? Confusion, Stalemate, Ignorance", in: Politics and Governance, 9,4: 5-15. Open Access (2021); at: <https://www. cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/ article/view/4573/4573; "Research Perspectives and Boundaries of Thought: Security, Peace, Conflict, and the Anthropocene", in Special Issue Revista de Estudios en Seguridad Internacional. Open Access (2021); at: <http://www.seguridadinternacional.es/ resi/index.php/revista/article/view/347; (with Pérez de Armino, Karlos (forthcoming in 2023):“Climate Security and the European Union”, in: Julia Maria Trombetta (Ed.):Handbook on Climate Security (Cheltenham: Edward Elgar).

CV File
Researchtopic

Research fields & Expertise

 

International Relations and Political Theory; Security Studies; Peace & Conflict Studies; Global Governance; Climate Politics and Climate Security

 

 

 

Research projects

 

Judith's research is based on a critical-normative approach and aims to develop the conceptualizations of security, conflict, human well-being and justice via the new readings of human-nature relations. The forms and roles of agency, expertise, power and normative foundations within global governance are further constitutive elements of her research. The emerging Anthropocene Studies and the question of the changing critical theories in this context are also part of her research.

 

With association to the Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy of the University of Hamburg (IFSH), she led the project “Climate change in security perceptions, conceptions and practice at the United Nations Security Council” (2019-2020), which was funded by the German Federal Foreign Office. One of the central aims of her research is to overcome the several challenges of the climate security field and to thereby advance the development of the climate security agenda with the joined forces of the triangulation of theory and practice, developing new policy approaches and recommendations.

 

Since March 1st 2021, she has been the project manager of the Franco-German project  (BMBF) Multiple Crises. Covid-19 and the Entanglements of Public Health, Security and Ecology in Europe. This three-year project, which is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, examines the entanglement and interaction of different crisis phenomena that are particularly evident as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Using the three major subject areas of public health, safety and ecology, concrete interdependencies between these phenomena, which are perceived as “existential crises”, are identified and analyzed.

 

One of the central aims of her research is to advance the development of the climate security agenda with the joined forces of the triangulation of theory and practice, developing new policy approaches and recommendations. She is active in the Network of Scientists For Future.

 

Professional memberships

 

International Studies Association; International Political Science Association; European Consortium of Political Research; German Political Science Association; Federation of German Scientists; Advisory Board Scientists for Future

 

Title of thesis

Environmental Security in the Anthropocene

Institution of thesis

University of the Basque Country

Supervisor

Dr. Karlos Pérez de Armiño

Projects

Coordination of other projects

Coordination with David Fopp of the “Statement of the Scientists for Future on the current draft for a European climate regulation“ (https://www.scientists4future.org/statement-scientists-for-future-current-draft-for-a-european-climate-regulation/; 13.10.2020)

Coordination and production with the team of Bernhard Steinberger, Patrick Bürger and Sebastian Rau. September 2019. Youtube-Video “A call to politics” Scientist for Future

The video is based on statements from 133 German speaking scientists addressed to the governments of Germany, Austria and Switzerland and transports the S4F-Statement, which was signed in May 2019 by more than 26.000 scientist and includes the contribution from Greta Thunberg. It was released on Youtube and in several cinemas in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZYh0aTSvBA

https://www.scientists4future.org/

The short version has more than 210.000 clicks on twitter: https://twitter.com/sciforfuture

(BMBF) Multiple Crises. Covid-19 and the Entanglements of Public Health, Security and Ecology in Europe

The project "Multiple Crises. Covid-19 and the Entanglements of Public Health, Security and Ecology in Europe", funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), explores the entanglements and interplay between various crisis phenomena. The Covid-19 pandemic and climate change are the main foci of the analysis. Both crisis phenomena are equally accompanied by social, political and economic distortions, and manifest as multiple crises characterized by a high degree of complexity, multidimensional interactions, existential threat situations and an immediate need for action. The concrete interdependencies of these phenomena, which are perceived as "existential crises", are identified and analyzed with respect to three major thematic areas, namely public health, security and ecology.

 

The analysis focuses on three levels of investigation: crisis perception in European societies (1), crisis analyses from scientific experts (2) and crisis responses of political institutions and decision-makers (3). Following an interdisciplinary approach and in line with the concept of a “history of contemporary problems”, the project looks at adaptation practices, coping strategies and political reaction patterns at the local, national and European level In dialogue with Franco-German perspectives, it aims to develop critical humanities and social sciences-related outlooks on current crises and threats, and aims to examine their historical and societal dynamics in a global context. Researching the interaction of multiple crises should thus enable a better understanding of the perception, analysis and management of complex and entangled crisis phenomena in present-day Europe.

 

Lead researcher: Judith Nora Hardt (CMB), Gabriel Bartl (CMB)  

Funding agency: Federal Ministry of Education and Research (Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung, BMBF)

Duration: 03.2021 – 02.2024

 

Climate Security in the Anthropocene

May 21, 2023

Judith Nora Hardt , Cameron Harrington, Franziskus von Lucke, Adrien Estève, Nicholas P. Simpson

Edition: Springer
Collection: The Anthropocene: Politik—Economics—Society—Science
ISBN: 978-3-031-26016-2

This chapter introduces the book, Climate Security in the Anthropocene—Exploring the Approaches of United Nations Security Council Member-States. Climate change is increasingly positioned as a security issue. A number of influential governance actors including states, international organisations, and civil society groups now connect climate change to a variety of security threats such as armed conflict, disasters, low socio-economic development, and fragile governing institutions. These threat perceptions have translated into political action and have led to the formation of a complex constellation of governance actors in response. In particular, over the past fifteen years both permanent and non-permanent member-states of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) have been instrumental in constructing and responding to climate security threats. This introductory chapter presents the overall aim of the book, which is to analyse whether the concept of security has shifted over time with respect to climate change, and if so, how these shifts have occurred in state practices. It begins by tracing the evolution of climate security in academic scholarship and in the UNSC. It then presents the theoretical framework of the book, which distinguishes between three ideal-types of climate security: national security, human security, and ecological security. It concludes by outlining the methodology of the book, which is comprised of fifteen case study chapters that explore the various ways in which member-states that sat on the UNSC between 2018 and in 2020 constructed and responded to climate security threats.


La politique climatique allemande. Comment rattraper le temps perdu ?

April 29, 2022

Judith Nora Hardt , Sébastien Vannier , Ulrike Zeigermann

Sammelband
Allemagne d'aujourd'hui
Edition: Presses Universitaires Septentrion
Collection: Allemagne d'aujourd'hui
ISBN: 2757436139

Réunissant chercheurs allemands et français, articles scientifiques et interviews d'acteurs centraux de la politique climatique allemande, ce numéro offre une vue interdisciplinaire sur les différents enjeux de la question du climat en Allemagne. Un vaste panorama qui permet de mieux comprendre l’histoire, les enjeux, les acteurs mais aussi les contradictions du débat climatique chez nos voisins.


Zum Verhältnis zwischen Wissenschaft und Politik im Kontext multipler Krisen: Covid-19 und die Klimakrise als Herausforderungen für die wissenschaftliche Politikberatung

April 04, 2022

Judith Nora Hardt , Gabriel Bartl


Climate Change and Security within the United Nations: Insights from the UN Environment Programme and the UN Security Council

September 17, 2021

Judith Nora Hardt , Edited by Eva Lövbrand and Malin Mobjörk

Essay aus Sammelband
SIPRI Research Reports
Edition: SIPRI, Oxford University Press.
Collection: SIPRI Research Reports
ISBN: 9780198787303

In this essay, the volume editors present the key themes of their new book Anthropocene (In)securities: Reflections on Collective Survival 50 Years After the Stockholm Conference, published by SIPRI and Oxford University Press.


Statement by Scientists 4 Future (S4F) regarding the "Demands of Fridays for Future Germany to the German Representatives in the EU

October 01, 2020

Judith Nora Hardt , Baumann et al.

Artikel (Online)


Berlin, 02.10.2020 | Die Scientists for Future (S4F) belegen, dass die Forderungen der Fridays for Future (FFF) an die EU-Politik sachlich erforderlich und wissenschaftlich begründet sind.  Nach Berechnungen des IPCC ergibt sich ein Restbudget für Emissionen der EU27 von 20 Gt CO2 ab 2021, um die Erderwärmung auf maximal 1,5 Grad zu begrenzen. Eine Reduktion der Emissionen von 80 % bis 2030 entspricht einem Pfad in diesem Budgetrahmen. Die EU müsste spätestens im Jahre 2035 CO2-neutral sein. Die Forderungen von FFF sind mit dem 1,5-Grad-Ziel konsistent. Sie sind klimawissenschaftlich begründet und liegen politisch wie ökonomisch im Bereich des Notwendigen und Machbaren.


A Climate for Change in the UNSC? Member States’ Approaches to the Climate-Security Nexus. Policy Brief 05|20

June 22, 2020

Judith Nora Hardt

Edition: Institut für Friedensforschung und Sicherheitspolitik an der Universität Hamburg

Deutsch

Neuer IFSH Policy Brief: A Climate for Change in the UNSC? Member States’ Approaches to the Climate-Security Nexus

22.06.2020

Inwieweit nehmen die 15 derzeitigen Mitgliedstaaten des UN-Sicherheitsrates den Klimawandel als Bedrohung für ihre eigene und die internationale Sicherheit war? Inwiefern integrieren sie den Klimawandel-Sicherheits-Nexus, also die vielfältigen Sicherheitsbedrohungen, die vom Klimawandel ausgehen, in ihre Innen- und Außenpolitik sowie in ihre Position, die sie in den Vereinten Nationen vertreten? Im neuen IFSH Research Report stellen Dr. Judith Nora Hardt und Alina Viehoff bedeutende Forschungsergebnisse zu diesen Fragen vor. Die Analyse wurde mit Unterstützung eines großen internationalen und interdisziplinären Wissenschaftsnetzwerkes in dem Zeitraum von Dezember 2019 bis April 2020 erarbeitet und legt den Fokus auf traditionelle Sicherheitsakteure, aber auch auf andere staatliche Akteure und schließt ein breites Sicherheitsverständnis ein.

Der vorliegende Forschungsbericht von Dr. Judith Nora Hardt und Alina Viehoff ist der erste, der sich systematisch mit oben genannten Fragen auseinandersetzt. Dabei legt er einen besonderen Schwerpunkt auf die Beziehungen zwischen nationaler und internationaler Sicherheit, indem der Bericht die nationalen Politiken der 15 Mitgliedstaaten des UN-Sicherheitsrat – dem einzigen internationalen Organ mit einem Mandat zur Aufrechterhaltung des Weltfriedens und der internationalen Sicherheit – ins Zentrum der Aufmerksamkeit rückt. Die Studie enthält die detaillierten Forschungsergebnisse, die bereits als Grundlage für den IFSH Policy Brief #5 „A Climate for Change in the UNSC? Member States’ Approaches to the Climate-Security Nexus“ dienten, der kurz zuvor erschienen ist.

Die beiden Autorinnen sehen es als essentiell an, dass der Sicherheitsrat die wechselseitigen Beziehungen von Klimawandel und Sicherheit und die unterschiedlichen Auswirkungen, die sich aus diesen Zusammenhang ergeben, anerkennt. Dabei wird die Notwendigkeit eines institutionellen Wandels des Sicherheitsrates hervorgehoben, der insbesondere durch den Einbezug von wissenschaftlicher Expertise fundiert und multilateral gestützt sein sollte. Zudem empfehlen sie, die traditionelle Sicherheitspolitik, die sich zumeist auf Sicherheit im engeren und traditionellen Sinne bezieht, um sozio-ökologische Aspekte, wie z.B. extreme Wettereignisse und existentielle Bedrohungen für Inselstaaten und zukünftige Generationen, zu erweitern.

Der Research Report entstand im Rahmen des Projektes „The role of climate change in security conceptions and perceptions of the UNSC member states“, das durch das Auswärtige Amt gefördert wurde. Das Projekt war eine Kooperation zwischen dem Institut für Friedensforschung und Sicherheitspolitik an der Universität Hamburg (IFSH) und der Forschungsgruppe Klimawandel und

Englisch

New IFSH Policy Brief: A Climate for Change in the UNSC? Member States’ Approaches to the Climate-Security Nexus

22.06.2020

Dr. Judith Nora Hardt

Traditional security actors and institutions facing complex socio-ecological dynamics stand on the brink of change. How do the 15 current UN Security Council member states approach the connections between climate change and security? In the new IFSH Policy Brief, Dr. Judith Nora Hardt presents the research results of the project "Climate Change and Security in the UN Security Council" [v2] (CLSEC UNSC) on this question. The results illustrate how essential it is for the Security Council to recognize the interrelations of climate and security and their multiple effects. The policy brief emphasizes the urgent need for institutional, multilateral and scientifically-informed change to ensure international peace and security.

The detailed research results will be published in the upcoming IFSH Research Report #5 "A Climate for Change in the UNSC? Member States' Approaches to the Climate-Security Nexus"


 [v1]Link zur Homepage: https://ifsh.de/forschung/klimaforschung/klimawandel-und-sicherheit-im-un-sicherheitsrat

 [v2]Link zur Homepage: https://ifsh.de/en/research/climate-research/climate-change-and-security-in-the-un-security-council


Publications in PDF format