Home Institution : Universität Würzburg | Position : Researcher | Disciplines : Political Science |

Biography

Ulrike Zeigermann is Assistant Professor for Social Science Sustainability Research at the University of Würzburg. Her research focuses on the challenges and opportunities that arise from new interactions between civil society, science, law, business, media, politics and the environment in social transformations towards sustainability. In addition to researching the governance of sustainability, she also devotes her research and teaching to questions of expertise and knowledge transfer processes in socio-ecological transformations.

Previously, Ulrike Zeigermann was a research assistant at the Chair of Political Science with a focus on sustainable development at the University of Magdeburg. Already since her doctoral studies at the University of Münster, Ulrike Zeigermann has also been an associated researcher at the Centre Marc Bloch. Here, she co-founded the working group "Climate/Energy" with Gilles Lepesant in 2019 and has since led the "Lunch Seminars on Climate Governance and Energy Transitions".  From 2015 to 2017, she was co-leader of the research group "State Action and Knowledge Circulation". Previously, she studied at the London School of Economics and Political Science, Sciences Po Lille, and the University of Münster.

Scholarship

2021-2022 : Scholarship of the Maison de Sciences de l'homme (DAAD) for a six-months research visit at Sciences Po’s
                    Centre for European Studies and Comparative Politics (UMR 8239)
2020          : Erasmus+ Scholarship for Research at the Warsaw University of Life Sciences
2019          : Scholarship for research and scientific conference in Canada (OVGU Professorinnenprogramm II)
2018          : DAAD Research Scholarship (Australia)
2016          : PhD Scholarship Centre Marc Bloch
2015          : DAAD Research Scholarship (Canada)
2013 - 2016: PhD Scholarship Heinrich Böll Foundation
2009 - 2012: Graduate Scholarship Heinrich Böll Foundation
2007 - 2011: Research Grant French-German University
2007          : Research Scholarship Franco-German Youth Office

Researchtopic

Human Rights - Sustainable Development - Human Security - Policy Coherence for Development - Comparative Policy Analysis - Global Governance - Knowledge circulation

Title of thesis
Policy Coherence for Development - from a vague idea towards a global norm?
Summary of thesis

Since its emergence, the concept of policy coherence for development (PCD) – the integration of sustainable development at all stages of policy making due to the expected effects of those decisions on developing countries – has become a prominent idea in international development cooperation. Despite its increasing popularity the concept remains vague and contested. There has been confusion about what the concept actually means and how it can or should be applied in international relations and in development studies.

In my dissertation, I analyze the international circulation of administrative knowledge and political ideas on PCD through transnational networks. I study in particular interactions between the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and its member states focusing on France, the United Kingdom and Germany.

Based on my qualitative empirical research I explain how and why the concept could become a success story. I show that the increasing dissemination of PCD can be explained with the help of conceptual, institutional and actor-related factors. Paradoxically, the concept’s alleged weakness – its ambiguity – has contributed to its development as an international soft norm. Drawing upon insights about the different approaches to implement PCD in France, the United Kingdom and Germany from my comparative analysis, I identify three frames of the concept. Finally, I show that centralized policy entrepreneurs have played an important role in international transfer of knowledge.

Supervisor
Prof. Dr. Paul Kevenhörster und Prof. Dr. Markus Lederer
Projects

Research Project: Energy Autonomy - An Interdisciplinary dialogue on challenges, potentials and limits for local climate policy

Resarch Project "Shared Society"

Resarch Project "Laypersons in Law - Social Science Perspectives on Legal Practices of Non-professionals"

Organization of the programme: "Zukunftswege"

Organization of the research group: "Public action and circulation of knowledge" (Groupe de travail Action publique et circulation des savoirs)

Organisation of Events

Contested Futures in Energy Transition(s) International Conference, Berlin 12/2019

Pour une approche interdisciplinaire de l’énergie - French-German Expert Workshop, Berlin 06/2019

International Conference: Laypersons in Law – Social Science Perspectives on Legal Practices of Non-professionals, Berlin 09-10 May 2019 (https://www.cmb.hu-berlin.de/zentrum/neuigkeit/call-for-papers-laypersons-in-law/)

Winter School for Young Scholars: Politics and Law – An Interdisciplinary Dialogue between Social and Legal Sciences, Berlin, 28 – 30 November 2019

Contested knowledge and expertise in sustainability politics - Panel at the International Conference on Public Policy, Montréal 26-28. June 2019

Conflict and Cooperation in Natural Resource Politics - Panel at the European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR) General Conferences, Wroclaw 2019

Water and Energy in Climate Governance, Subnational Climate Governance, Innovation, Expertise & Knowledge in Sustainability Transformations Panels at the IPSA World Congress 2020, Lisbon

Policy Translation and Translators Panel at the II International Conference on Policy Diffusion and Development Cooperation, São Paulo 2020

 

 

Miscellaneous

Recent publications and presentations
• Responsible Business Conduct: From good intentions to sustainable development, Ulrike Zeigermann, Coherence for Development. Better Policies for Better Lives. Issue 3, OECD Publishing, Paris 2014
• Restorative Justice and Land Reform in South Africa, David Betge und Ulrike Zeigermann, CCS Working Paper Series, 2014 (im Erscheinen); Präsentiert auf der "Understanding Justice in Conflicts" Konferenz, Monterey Institute of International Studies, Monterey 2013
• Französische Entwicklungszusammenarbeit und der Mythos vom gemeinsamen Wachstum, Ulrike Zeigermann, in: Benjamin Laag, Janina-Lorena Obermeyer (Hrsg.) Europa in der Verantwortung. Entwicklungspolitische Herausforderungen und Perspektiven. Münster 2013
• Effects of non-aid policies in France and Germany on fragile and conflict-affected states, Conference Paper für die „International Conference on Sustainable Development Practice“. The Earth Institute, Columbia University. New York, 2013
• Aid Fragmentation and Effectiveness of French and German development cooperation, Conference Paper für ‚Fragmentation or Pluralism Conference’. Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik. Bonn, 2013

Contested Knowledge in Sustainability Governance

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.


Revue française de science politique 70-5, octobre 2020

November 30, 2020

Jérémy Geeraert , Fabien Jobard , Bénédicte Laumond , Irina Mützelburg , Ulrike Zeigermann

Edition: Presses de Sciences Po
Collection: Revue française de science politique
ISBN: 00352950

Sociologie politique des passeurs-Quand les passeurs passent par les organisations internationales-Produire des passeurs-Des passeurs en quête de prévention contre l'extrémisme de droite-Le transfert et la consolidation des normes du soin de la précarité vers l’hôpital public.

Le dossier thématique de ce numéro est consacré à une nouvelle catégorie d'analyse, celle des passeurs de normes, d’idées et d’instruments d’action publique, qui permet d’interroger à nouveaux frais le domaine des policy transfer studies. Au croisement de la sociologie de l’international et de la sociologie de l’analyse des politiques publiques, cette approche accorde une place centrale à la sociologie des acteurs en contexte, tant national qu’international ou transnational, ainsi qu’à la temporalité des dynamiques de passage. Une chronique bibliographique varia complète ce volume.


Transnational Policy Entrepreneurs. Bureaucratic Influence and Knowledge Circulation in Global Cooperation

May 18, 2020

Ulrike Zeigermann

Edition: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
ISBN: 978-3-030-44892-9

This book explains how transnational policy entrepreneurs have contributed to the transfer of the contested concept of ‘Policy Coherence for Sustainable Development’ (PCSD) in global policy. 

Tracing the processes by which the PCSD concept has been diffused in an international epistemic community linked to the EU and the OECD, the book offers new insights on international public administrations’ influence on global decision-making. It highlights the dynamic and multi-directional character of knowledge circulation in policy transfer. Drawing on case studies from France, the United Kingdom and Germany, the book contributes to current debates on sustainable development, revealing the role of actors and the logics behind ‘policy coherence’. Thus, it allows to understand the challenges involved in implementing SDG 17. 

Given its scope, the book will be of considerable interest to academic audiences and students of international relations and policy analysis, as well as practitioners and public officials whose work involves global sustainability policy. 

Ulrike Zeigermann is a postdoctoral researcher and lecturer at the Department of Political Science and Sustainable Development at the Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, Germany, and an associated researcher at the Marc Bloch Centre. 


Publications

Böcher, Michael; Zeigermann, Ulrike; Berker, Lars E. & Jabra, Djamila (2022) Climate policy expertise in times of populism – knowledge strategies of the AfD regarding Germany’s climate package, Environmental Politics.

Zeigermann, Ulrike; Böcher, Michael, Weitz, Lia (2022). Nachhaltige ländliche Regionalentwicklung durch Klimaschutz und Wertschöpfung. Ökologisches Wirtschaften. 2.2022 (37). S. 41-45

Böcher, Michael; Weitz, Lia & Zeigermann, Ulrike (2022) Klimaschutz für Regionalentwicklung im ländlichen Raum – das Projekt „LAND – KREIS – GEMEINDE“. Der Landkreis. Ausgabe 06/2022. S. 275-277

Zeigermann, Ulrike; Böcher, Michael (2022). Pandémie de Covid-19 - quelles implications pour le climat et pour la politique climatique locale?. In: Allemagne d\'aujourd\'hui - Villeneuve d\'Ascq: Presses Universitaires du Septentrion, Bd. 239 (2022), 1, S. 224-235

Zeigermann, Ulrike (2022). Savoir controversé et polarisation sociale - une étude du débat politique allemand sur le climat de 2017 à 2021. In: Allemagne d\'aujourd\'hui - Villeneuve d\'Ascq: Presses Universitaires du Septentrion, Bd. 239 (2022), 1, S. 194-205

Hardt, Judith Nora; Vannier, Sébastien; Zeigermann, Ulrike (2022). La politique climatique allemande au défi de rattraper le temps perdu – introduction. In: Allemagne d\'aujourd\'hui - Villeneuve d\'Ascq: Presses Universitaires du Septentrion, Bd. 239 (2022), 1, S. 79-82

Wissenschaftsbasierte Politikberatung in der Corona-Krise: Die Ressortforschung zwischen wissenschaftlichem Standard und politischem Handlungsdruck. M. Böcher, M. Krott, U. Zeigermann. In: dms: der moderne Staat. 14(2). 2021.

Integration and the role of Cities for Shared Societies. M. Hussak, U. Zeigermann, J.P. Schilling. in: Conflict Resolution Quarterly. 2021. 10.1002/crq.21326.

Knowledge integration in sustainability governance through science-based actor networks. Ulrike Zeigermann. in: Global Environmental Change, Volume 69, 2021, 102314, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2021.102314.

Translation and translators in policy transfer processes. Ulrike Zeigermann and Patrick Hassenteufel. in: Osmany Porto de Oliveira (ed.) Handbook of Policy Transfer, Diffusion and Circulation, Edward Elgar Publishing, p. 58-79, 2021, https://doi.org/10.4337/9781789905601.00011

Scientific Knowledge Integration and the Implementation of the SDGs: Comparing Strategies of Sustainability Networks. Ulrike Zeigermann, in: Politics and Governance, vol 9(1), 2021, https://doi.org/10.17645/pag.v9i1.3630

Contested futures for coal - Foundations of the energy transitions and regional challenges. Ulrike Zeigermann,
In: Contested futures for energy transitions - Magdeburg: Universitätsbibliothek (UB) Magdeburg; 2021, S. 4-11 - (PoWiNE working paper; Band 1) https://doi.org/10.24352/UB.OVGU-2021-046

Quand les passeurs passent par les organisations internationales: Les acteurs transnationaux dans la politique publique globale du développement durable. Ulrike Zeigermann, in : Revue française de science politique, vol. 70(5), 2020, https://doi.org/10.3917/rfsp.705.0575

Sociologie politique des passeurs: Acteurs dans la circulation des savoirs, des normes et des politiques publiques. Fabien Jobard; Jérémy Geeraert ; Bénédicte Laumond ; Irina Mützelburg and Ulrike Zeigermann, in :  Revue française de science politique, vol. 70(5), 2020, https://doi.org/10.3917/rfsp.705.0557

Transnational Policy Entrepreneurs - Bureaucratic Influence and Knowledge Circulation in Global Cooperation. Ulrike Zeigermann. Palgrave Macmillan, 2020, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-44893-6

Policy Coherence for Sustainable Development – A promising approach for Human Security in Fragile States? Ulrike Zeigermann. in: Journal of Peacebuilding & Development, 2020, https://doi.org/10.1177/1542316620909077

Nachhaltige digitale Lehre? - Eine Auseinandersetzung mit online Lehre aus Nachhaltigkeitsperspektive am Beispiel des Masterseminars Menschenrechte und Nachhaltigkeit. Ulrike Zeigermann, In: Bildung für Nachhaltige Entwicklung in der universitären Lehre: Best Practice Beispiele der Otto-von Guericke-Universität Magdeburg : sustainable development goals - Magdeburg: Universitätsbibliothek; Körner, Franziska . - 2020, S. 73-87. http://dx.doi.org/10.25673/37869

Challenges for bridging the gap between knowledge and governance in sustainability policy – The case of OECD ‘Focal Points’ for Policy Coherence for Development, Ulrike Zeigermann and Michael Böcher, in: Forest Policy and Economics, 2019, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forpol.2019.102005

Policy Transfer in a Global Economy, Ulrike Zeigermann and Elsa Tulmet, in: Policy Transfer and Norm CirculationTowards an Interdisciplinary and Comparative Approach. Edited by Laure Delcour, Elsa Tulmets, Routledge, 2019, https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315098234

Politikwissenschaftliche Grundlagen.  Ulrike Zeigermann and Lars Berker, in: Haase/ Körner/ Strubelt. Veröffentlichung zur Lehrveranstaltung Klimaanpassung und Nachhaltigkeit an der Otto-von-Guericke-Universität Magdeburg im Sommersemester 2019. LOGiSCH Verlag, Magdeburg 2019

Akteure in Sekretariaten internationaler Organisationen. Das OECD-Sekretariat im Kontext der Policy Coherence for Development-Debatte Ulrike Zeigermann, in: der moderne staat dms: Zeitschrift für Public Policy, Recht und Management; Jg. 11, Nr. 2 (2018): Verwaltung als Akteur Akteure in der Verwaltung; Verlag Barbara Budrich, 2018, https://doi.org/10.3224/dms.v11i2.12 

Governing Sustainable Development through ‘Policy Coherence’? The production and circulation of knowledge in the EU and the OECD. in: European Journal on Sustainable Development. 2018

The proliferation of Policy Coherence for Development – from a vague idea towards a global norm? Dissertation. IMB Hochschulschrift der Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek Münster, 2017

Responsible Business Conduct: From good intentions to sustainable development, Ulrike Zeigermann, Coherence for Development. Better Policies for Better Lives. Issue 3, OECD Publishing, Paris 2014

Restorative Justice and Land Reform in South Africa, David Betge und Ulrike Zeigermann, CCS Working Paper Series, 2014; Präsentiert auf der "Understanding Justice in Conflicts" Konferenz, Monterey Institute of International Studies, Monterey 2013

Französische Entwicklungszusammenarbeit und der Mythos vom gemeinsamen Wachstum, Ulrike Zeigermann, in: Benjamin Laag, Janina-Lorena Obermeyer (Hrsg.) Europa in der Verantwortung. Entwicklungspolitische Herausforderungen und Perspektiven. Münster 2013

 

Recent Conference Contributions (Selection):

International Public Policy Association (IPPA) Conferences, Montréal 2019 and Pittsburgh 2018, Panel Chair of: Contested knowledge and expertise in sustainability politics, Oral Presentations: Challenging scientific knowledge and expertise in sustainability politics;  Intermediary actors in interdependent and complex policy processes

European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR) General Conferences, virtuell 2020, Wroclaw 2019, Hamburg 2018, Panel Chair of: Social Network Approaches to Environmental Issues and Contestation, Conflict and Cooperation in Natural Resource Politics; Oral Presentations: Power, Interests and Knowledge Behind New Approaches for Sustainable Development & Integration to Overcome Tensions between Knowledge and Governance in Sustainability Policy –The Case of OECD ‘Focal Points’ for Policy Coherence for Development

International Political Science Association (IPSA) World Congress, Virtual 2021 and Brisbane 2018, Panel Chair of Water and Energy in Climate Governance, Subnational Climate Governance, Innovation, Expertise & Knowledge in Sustainability Transformations, Authoritarian Politics & Policy-Making & Paper Presenter: Circulation of Knowledge on Sustainable Development in the Modern International Cooperation Architecture; Human Rights Education 2.0

German Political Science Association (DVPW), Environmental Governance Conference Darmstadt 2020: Oral Presentation:  Knowledge integration for the Sustainable Development Goals - The role of science-based actor

networks; Environmental  Governance in Teaching Workshop in Magdeburg 2019, Oral Presentation: Planspiel Klimaanpassung in der Landespolitik; General Conference Frankfurt Main 2018, Oral Presentation: Wie nachhaltig müssen und können Politiken in modernen Demokratien sein?

Jahrestagungen des Forum Junge Staats-, Verwaltungs- und Policy-Forschung, Kassel 2019 and Konstanz 2018, Oral Presentations: Nachhaltig verwirklicht und wirklich verwaltet? Eine kritische Bestandsaufnahme der Debatte um Governance für nachhaltige Entwicklung; Sekretariate internationaler Organisationen als Policy Entrepreneurs und Agents of Transfer?

II International Conference on Policy Diffusion and Development Cooperation, São Paulo 2020, Panel Chair: Policy Translation and Translators

 

Blog Articles:

"Expertise in der Krise" erschienen auf dem UN-Debattenblog der DGVN, 2020

"Menschenrechtsbildung 2.0" erschienen auf dem Blog der Friedensakademie RLP, 2017

"Quo vadis UNESCO?" erschienen auf dem Bog der Friedensakademie RLP, 2017

"Populismus als Unwort des Jahres 2016?" erschienen auf dem Blog von Polis 180, 2017