PD Dr. Dr. Ariel Macaspac Hernandez

Short CV

Since 07/2024: Research Fellow at the GIGA
10/2023 – 06/2024: THE NEW INSTITUTE, Hamburg, fellow, Programme: Non-material conceptions of human flourishing
07/2017 to 06/2024: German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS) (formerly German Development Institute), Bonn, senior researcher, Program of Inter- and transnational cooperation, program of environmental governance and transformation to sustainability
2016 to present: University of Duisburg-Essen (lecturer/Privatdozent), Faculty of Social Sciences
4/-5/2022: Fundação Getúlio Vargas- Escola Brasileira de Administração Pública e de Empresas (FGV EBAPE), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, senior researcher
10/2018 – 09/2019: Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) (now Research Institute for Sustainability Helmholz Centre Potsdam), Potsdam, researcher, coordination of the German Science Platform on the 2030 Agenda
09/2016 – 10/2017: Käte-Hamburger Kolleg/Centre for Global Cooperation Research, Duisburg, post-doc research fellow
11/2014 – 11/2017: Fraunhofer Center for International Management and Knowledge Economy, Leipzig, research fellow
7/2011 – 10/2014 Institute for Infrastructure and Resources Management, University of Leipzig, post-doc researcher, tasks: chapter scientist for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) contributing to the publication of the energy chapter of the Fifth Assessment Report of WG3 of the IPCC
1/2008 – 12/2010: International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), Laxenburg/Vienna, Austria, researcher and program coordinator

Education and Training:

2021: Habilitation, Venia Legendi, Institute for Political Science, University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany, Prof Dirk Messner, Habilitation thesis: Setting sustainable low carbon development in motion – negotiation perspectives on transformation pathways
2014: PhD in Economics and Social Sciences (Dr rer pol), University of Cologne, Germany, Prof Thomas Jäger, thesis: Strategic facilitation of complex decision-making - How process and context matter in climate change negotiations
2011: PhD in Political Science (Dr phil), University of Vienna, Austria, Prof Eva Kreisky, thesis: Violence and misrecognition in identity conflicts – mediating agreements in Southern Philippines
2010: Master (in Mediation) (M.A.), Faculty of Law, European University Viadrina, Frankfurt (O), thesis: Mediation not leading to peace – when finished business remains unfinished
2007: Master (Magister) in Political Science, Sociology and Pedagogy (Mag. phil.), Geschwister-Scholl-Institute for Political Science, Ludwig-Maximilian-University Munich, Germany, thesis: Balikatan military exercises and the US war on terrorism in the Philippines, 13 Feb 2007
1999: Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy, University of Santo Tomas, Manila, Philippines (two years)

Current Research

Negotiations and stakeholder dialogue, conflict management
Transformation to sustainability, governance of sustainability transitions
Care and human flourishing
Knowledge cooperation, knowledge/science diplomacy
Scenario-building and futures scenarios
Sustainable energy, Urban mobility, Food security
Climate change, climate governance, environmental and climate justice

Countries and Regions

Asia and Pacific: Philippines, Indonesia, India, Japan
Latin America and the Caribbean: Mexico, Brazil, Jamaica
Southern Africa: South Africa

Research Programmes

Memberships

Earth System Governance Project, The Earth System Governance Project is a global, interdisciplinary research network advancing knowledge at the interface between global environmental change and governance. The project aims to explore political solutions and novel, more effective governance systems to cope with global environmental change. The network connects and mobilizes scholars from the social sciences and humanities working from local to global scales., since 2025
European International Studies Association (EISA), This section "Rethinking Authenticity: Relational, Embodied, and Marginal Epistemologies in Global IR" advances Global IR by rethinking authenticity as a relational, embodied, and ethical practice of knowledge production. Bringing together decolonial, feminist, queer, disability, care-ethical, regional, and digital perspectives, it interrogates epistemic authority, responsibility, and truthfulness amid global inequality and AI-driven transformations. Authenticity is reframed as responsiveness to lived struggles, relational accountability, and practices of care across local and global scales., since 2025
Inochi Forum, Inochi Forum is a platform where individuals come together with the awareness that each and every life on Earth is interconnected. It’s a space for raising voices, listening, discussing, and forming a unified voice that contributes to a global movement. It involves contemplating what Inochi means and what actions need to be taken to ensure ‘No one will be left behind,’ transcending all boundaries of nationality, culture, and background.<br/><br/>Through collaborative efforts involving various stakeholders from industry, government, academia, and civil society on a global scale, we will issue Inochi Declaration at Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan. Beyond 2025, we will continue the Inochi Forum as a legacy of the Expo, advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and envisioning the next goals beyond the SDGs., since 2024

PD Dr. Dr. Ariel Macaspac Hernandez

Research Fellow

[email protected]

Chapter in Edited Volume

Religion in Transformation

In an age of polycrisis and moral disorientation, this chapter reframes religion as a source of meaning, care, and ethical restraint. Through the concept of the Sacred Ordinary, it explores how everyday experiences of connection can resist malignant normality and reorient society toward human and planetary flourishing.

Short CV

Current Research

Countries and Regions

Research Programmes

Memberships

PD Dr. Dr. Ariel Macaspac Hernandez

Publications

Research Projects

Lectures

Negotiating Care in Sustainable Food Futures: A Quiz Bee on Ethics, Innovation, and Indigenous Knowledge

Teaching

Aufstrebende Mächte Asiens als Neue Globale Akteure in der Entwicklung und Zusammenarbeit

Klimagerechtigkeit und Nachhaltigkeit

Notification

Social Media

PD Dr. Dr. Ariel Macaspac Hernandez

Short CV

Current Research

Countries and Regions

Research Programmes

Memberships

PD Dr. Dr. Ariel Macaspac Hernandez

Publications

Research Projects

Lectures

Negotiating Care in Sustainable Food Futures: A Quiz Bee on Ethics, Innovation, and Indigenous Knowledge

Teaching

Aufstrebende Mächte Asiens als Neue Globale Akteure in der Entwicklung und Zusammenarbeit

Klimagerechtigkeit und Nachhaltigkeit