Doctoral student M/F in Political Science – Governing global environmental commons: the seabed, a “heritage” or “common” of humanity?
PhD @French National Centre for Scientific Research posted 20 hours agoJob Description
General information
Job title: PhD student M/F in Political Science – Governing global environmental commons: the seabed, a “heritage” or “common” of humanity?
Reference: UMR7050-BASDAO-013
Number of positions: 1
Work location: PARIS 07
Publication date: Friday, June 6, 2025
Type of contract: Fixed-term contract PhD student
Contract duration: 36 months
Thesis start date: October 1, 2025
Workload: Full
Remuneration: The remuneration is a minimum of €2,200.00 per month
CN section(s): 40 – Politics, power, organization
Description of the thesis subject
This thesis project focuses on the governance of global environmental commons (GECs) and more specifically on seabed mining located beyond national jurisdictions. In the era of energy transition, seabed mining is attracting keen interest due to the critical metals it contains, which are necessary for low-carbon technologies. Today, this governance is structured around an opposition between those who wish to ban seabed mining and those who wish to exploit available resources. This thesis aims to decipher this opposition by analyzing emerging geopolitical tensions and paradoxes: why do some states renounce exploitation despite a heavy dependence on these resources? And why, despite diplomatic tensions, increasing militarization, and territorial rivalries, does the seabed present a low level of conflict? The doctoral student will draw on existing literature, which currently mobilizes three main hypotheses to understand what is at stake behind this “conflictualization” in these globalized spaces: a socioconstructivist approach, which postulates that the evolution of environmental norms shapes cooperation and redefines power relations; a neorealist reading, where current governance is explained by inter-state rivalries and asymmetric strategic interests; and a liberal institutionalist perspective, which highlights the role of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) in the arbitration between exploitation and conservation. While the last two hypotheses have been the subject of abundant literature, the work supporting the first hypothesis is only in its infancy. This thesis project therefore aims to extend the elements of the first hypothesis, based on the contributions of socioconstructivism and Elinor Ostrom’s theory of the commons applied to the global commons, and proposes to apply them to the study of seabed governance in particular. The methodology used will primarily be based on a qualitative approach, combining ethnographic surveys, participant/direct observations, semi-structured interviews, and documentary/discourse analyses, within international negotiation and decision-making institutions, such as the ISA or UN forums related to these issues. This research aims to shed light on the emerging conflictualization of the seabed and therefore contribute to a better understanding of the dynamics underway in international environmental governance within the CGE.
Work context
The doctoral student will be enrolled in the CNRS Ocean and Seas Research Group (GDR OMER). The thesis is subject to dual supervision. It will be supervised by Ms. Carola Kloeck, Assistant Professor in International Environmental Relations at the Center for International Research (CERI) at Sciences Po Paris, and co-supervised by Ms. Mélanie Albaret, University Professor of International Relations at the Centre Michel de l’Hospital at the University of Clermont Auvergne (UCA). Given the supervision, the doctoral student will be enrolled in the Sciences Po Paris doctoral program within the CERI. The doctoral student must have previously applied to the Sciences Po Paris doctoral program and been accepted (see eligibility criteria, process and admissions calendar on the Sciences Po Paris research school website: https://www.sciencespo.fr/ecole-recherche/fr/admissions/doctorat/).
Constraints and risks
The doctoral student will be required to register for and be involved in the GDR OMER (Global Research Group for Oceans and Seabeds) (particularly through the annual meeting days and online OMER meetings). The thesis involves travel abroad, particularly to UN forums on ocean and/or seabed governance issues, but also to Kingston, Jamaica, where the AIFM is headquartered.
