Researcher
Kacper Szulecki
Contactinfo and files
Summary
Kacper Szulecki is a Research Professor in International Climate Governance at NUPI, and a Professor II at the Centre for Development and the Environment (SUM), University of Oslo, where he is a fellow in the Include Centre for socially inclusive energy transitions.
He studied international relations, political sociology, psychology and linguistics in Warsaw, Oslo, Amsterdam, and in Konstanz.
His main research interests are the politics of decarbonization, climate and environmental politics, energy security, EU climate and energy governance, dissent as well as intra-European migration.
He has edited several volumes, including “Energy Security in Europe” (Palgrave 2018) and the "Handbook on European Union Climate Change Policy and Politics" (Edward Elgar 2023), and published five monographs. He has published more than 40 peer-reviewed papers, among others in Nature Energy, Governance, Climate Policy, Journal of European Public Policy, Energy Research and Social Science, and Environmental Politics (Best Article 2018). He has also written over 100 pieces for various newspapers and magazines, and has been interviewed by e.g. CNN, BBC, Al-Jazeera, Duetsche Welle, Die Zeit and the Green European Journal.
Expertise
Education
2012 Dr. rer. soc. in political sociology, University of Konstanz
2008 M.Sc. in International Relations (specialization: Global Environmental Governance), VU Amsterdam
Work Experience
2019 Researcher (professor competence in 2020), Dept of Political Science, UiO
2019 Guest researcher, Department of History and Civilization, EUI Florence
2017 Visiting Fellow, Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies, EUI Florence
2014-2018 Assistant professor, Dept. of Political Science, University of Oslo
2013 Guest researcher, Dept. of Climate Policy, DIW Berlin 2013-2014 Dahrendorf Fellow, Hertie School of Governance, Berlin
2008-2012 Researcher, Cluster of Excellence "Cultural Foundations of Integration", University of Konstanz
2008 Intern, Institute for Environmental Studies, VU Amsterdam
Aktivitet
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Clear all filtersFokusnummer: Norge og EU i endring
What do you do when the EEA Agreement is no longer sufficient? This special issue of the journal Internasjonal politikk highlights the challenges Norway faces as the EU evolves and a demanding international environment puts Norwegian interests under pressure. Marianne Riddervold, Pernille Rieker, and Tine Elisabeth Johnsen Brøgger examine challenges in security and defence; Guri Rosén addresses trade and economic security; Frode Veggeland and Martin Stangborli Time focus on health preparedness; Merethe Dotterud Leiren, Marie Byskov Lindberg, and Kacper Szulecki analyse the energy transition; and John Erik Fossum and Trym Fjørtoft discuss the state of democracy in Europe. As editor, Pernille Rieker has also written the issue’s editorial.
Europe's Selective Blindness on Gas - US LNG and the Limits of Supply Diversification
The European Union (EU) aims to diversify its gas and oil supplies and is determined to end its energy imports from Russia, whose revenues finance its war of aggression against Ukraine. Yet, despite the rhetorical commitment to diversification, new EU legislation paradoxically treats energy sourced from any single country other than Russia as fully diversified. This risks to obscure Europe’s rapidly growing dependence on US LNG imports. When Norway is considered ‘indigenous’ due to its close integration and political alignment as part of the European Economic Area, this trend becomes even clearer, with over 59% of LNG imports coming from the US in 2025. Such dependence exposes Europe to the risk of high costs, price volatility and geopolitical pressures. The principal pathway to strengthening the EU’s strategic autonomy in the energy sector is the accelerated transition to an efficient energy system based on indigenous renewables. As long as the EU remains reliant on large amounts of imported energy resources, mitigating the associated risks will require genuine supplier diversification embedded within a broader energy security strategy. Such a strategy must rest on a sound definition of diversification and reflect today’s geopolitical realities.
Theory Seminar: Unstable assemblages of uranium: locating power in nuclear fuel supply chains
Teva Meyer will visit NUPI on 30 January for this Theory Seminar.
Webinar: Europe’s Green Transition: Norway’s Role, Promises and Challenges
This webinar brings together experts and policymakers to explore Norway’s evolving partnership with the EU in shaping a sustainable future.
Polish-Norwegian Perceptions and Interactions
This working paper which is one of deliverables of the NORPOLFACTOR project maps mutual perceptions of Poland in Norway and Norway in Poland, the basic ideas informing their approaches to security-related challenges caused by their location in Russia’s neighbourhood as well as what could be termed as areas of cooperation and points of contention in their cooperation on addressing various security related challenges in the context of the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Norway and the EU undergoing change
This project examines how the EU's developments in security, economy, democracy, green transition, and health affect Norway. ...
EU-Norway Green Alliance between vision and reality: Exploring the potential and barriers in the critical minerals and battery sectors
Norway, a key supplier of hydrocarbons and clean energy, can play a pivotal role in the EU's green transition by providing critical raw materials and batteries. However, political and regulatory obstacles must be addressed to realize this potential. Norway's alignment with the European Green Deal and its commitment to sustainability initiatives make this easier on the onset, but challenges remain. The EU's regulatory landscape, including the European Green Deal, Critical Raw Materials Act, and Battery Regulation, aims to create a sustainable and competitive battery industry. Norway's policies, such as the Green Industrial Initiative and the Mineral Strategy, align with these goals, focusing on efficient processes, circular economy, and sustainable industry development. The report presents case studies of three significant mining projects in Norway: Nussir (copper), Nordic Mining (rutile and garnet) and Skaland Graphite. All three projects highlight the complexities of domestic mining, including regulatory hurdles, environmental concerns, and opposition from local communities and indigenous groups. These case studies underscore the need for balanced approaches that consider both economic benefits and environmental protection. Note: The research for this report and writing of the first draft was conducted while Skaiå Larsen, Larsen og Godal were graduate students at the University of Oslo. All further research, writing and editing, as well as the final formulation of policy recommendations was conducted by Szulecki.
Expelled from the Fairytale: The Impact of the Dissident Legacy on Post-1989 Central European Politics
To understand the political dimension of dissident legacies, we need first to understand the components that “made” the dissidents and follow their reconfiguration after 1989, leading to initial empowerment followed by gradual demise of the liberal post-dissident elite. Dissidence in the form that first appeared in the late 1960s and early 1970s in central and eastern Europe constituted a particular mode of political practice, combining open, non-violent dissent with universalist moral claims. The phenomenon of dissidentism was transnational, as political empowerment of oppositionists was achieved through a particular network of relationships between domestic audiences, repressive regimes, and Western media, social movements, trade unions, political parties, and policymakers. The specificities of the dissidents’ empowerment can partly explain key features of post-dissident politics and the visible backlash against former prominent dissidents, which has contributed to the rise of illiberalism and to democratic backsliding. This article traces the post-1989 trajectories of a few who belonged among central Europe’s most prominent representatives in this symbolic category, to try to explain the causes and character of the swift backlash against them—or as Václav Havel put it, their “expulsion from the fairytale.” Three pillars of dissident political power turned into the roots of their demise. First, critics question the dissidents’ uniqueness and rewrite their master narrative. Further, we see a clash of representations that results from the dissidents’ transnational empowerment, and third, the broader anti-elite and anti-intellectual tendencies that always accompanied dissidence as its shadow became amplified by more recent populist rhetoric.