Frederic Hanusch
Personal website: www.hanusch.earth
Frederic Hanusch is Professor of Planetary Change and Politics at Faculty 09 - Agricultural Sciences, Nutritional Sciences, and Environmental Management at Justus Liebig University Giessen, Germany. He is also co-founder of its Panel on Planetary Thinking, co-convener of the Earth System Governance Project’s Working Group on Democracy, and recently appointed by the British Academy and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (Washington, D.C.) into a working group on Transnational and Planetary Challenges as part of their Program Global (Dis)Orders.
His latest book, The Politics of Deep Time (Cambridge University Press, 2023), examines the political institutionalization of planetary temporalities. Other relevant publications demonstrate his engagement with both scholarly research and broader public discourse, ranging from his research monograph Democracy and Climate Change (Routledge, 2018) to the essay-based edited volume Seeds for Democratic Futures (transcript, 2024).
Before joining Justus Liebig University, he earned a MA in Political Science, Philosophy and Sociology at Ruprecht Karls University Heidelberg and a Ph.D. from the Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities (KWI) in Essen and worked for the German Government in the German Advisory Council on Global Change (WBGU) in Berlin, where he contributed to various policy-oriented reports, ranging from urbanization to SDGs to climate protection. Subsequently, he was a research group leader at the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) in Potsdam and a fellow at THE NEW INSTITUTE in Hamburg.
He received several scholarships, including the Visiting Distinguished Fellowship of the University of Canberra at the Centre for Deliberative Democracy & Global Governance in 2024. Frederic Hanusch regularly appears in newspapers, radio and television. More information can be found at www.hanusch.earth.
Planetary knowledges
This project aims to show that the notion of the planet, the planet as a method, and the respective recognition of the planetary condition allow for a broader perspective that ultimately changes the general understanding of the human condition.
Time design
Time is a central dimension for both humankind and its interactions with the planet. To investigate and direct the influence of temporal elements and their interactions — such as linear and cyclic time arrangements or (de-)synchronization of societal and earthly times — they have to be explored and integrated into a comprehensive model, which can be outlined as “time design”.
More-than-human democracy
The planet has to be taken into account in the way democracy is defined, practiced and evaluated. This project analyzes interlinkages between democratic renewal and the habitability of the Earth. One goal of this research is to investigate the thesis whether the next step change of democratic quality is the inclusion of the non-human.
Democratic serendipity
This project explores the contributions of unexpected encounters for thinking and doing democratic futures. Future democratic societies are not shaped by intentions, goal setting or problem-solving approaches alone; they are also formed by unforeseen change, by stumbling upon novelty and by surprise.
Varieties of hydrogen
Energy carriers, human development and planetary dynamics are closely entangled. Evolving hydrogen infrastructures differ, for example, on whether they rely on so-called green, blue or grey hydrogen, import hydrogen or produce it on-site, strive towards energy system integration or single application. This project aims to understand how hydrogen infrastructures interact with societies and their relation to the planet.
Teaching
The Professorship teaches the module MK-132-EN-DI "Planetary Thinking". Further modules are in development for the coming semesters.
Supervision
The professorship supervises bachelor's and master's theses as well as doctoral projects that either a) pursue a political science focus – for example in the field of democracy research – or b) engage with planetary change from a humanities or social science perspective, or c) take an inter- or transdisciplinary approach to planetary change.
To ensure a focused and constructive start, all prospective candidates are asked to submit a short exposé outlining their proposed topic. This forms the basis for an initial conversation and helps assess the project’s fit for supervision. Please send a single PDF document that includes the following sections:
1. Working Title
2. Motivation
3. Research Question
4. Context & Relevance
5. Theoretical Framework
6. Methodological Approach
7. Preliminary Outline
8. Bibliography incl. key references
9. Timeline
For orientation, the exposé should comprise ca. 1000 words for a Bachelor’s thesis, ca. 2000 words for a Master’s thesis, and 3000 words for a PhD project. I look forward to reading your ideas and engaging with your proposal.
In press
- Hanusch, F., Leggewie, C., Bauer, L.: The Planetary Condition (Elements in Earth System Governance). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. (under contract)
- Hanusch, F., Katsman, A. (eds.): Seeds for Democratic Futures. Bielefeld: transcript. (under contract, a German edition will also be published)
- Hanusch, F., Katsman, A.: Introduction, in: Hanusch, F., Katsman, A. (eds.): Seeds for Democratic Futures. Bielefeld: transcript.
- Hanusch, F.: Planetary Democracy, in: Hanusch, F., Katsman, A. (eds.): Seeds for Democratic Futures. Bielefeld: transcript.
- Hanusch, F.: The United Times – A Thought Experiment for Planetary Law, in: Kotzé, L. (ed.): Law and Planet Earth – Exploring New Frontiers in Earth System Law. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
2023
- Hanusch, F.: The Politics of Deep Time (Elements in Earth System Governance). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Leggewie, C., Hanusch, F.: Thought, in: Wallenhorst, N., Wulf, C. (eds.): Handbook of the Anthropocene. Springer: Cham, 485-490.
- Leggewie, C., Hanusch, F.: Agenda, in: Wallenhorst, N., Wulf, C. (eds.): Handbook of the Anthropocene. Springer: Cham, 1577-1581.
2022
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Hanusch F., Meisch, S.: The Temporal Cleavage: Populist Retrotopia vs Climate Emergency, in: Environmental Politics 31:5, 883-903.
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Pauls, C., Oppelt, M., Weber, Nicki K., Huni Kui, N.I., Leggewie, C., Hanusch, F., Bauer, L., Hartl, C., Finkelstein, C., Chakrabarty, D., Mendoza, B., Schreurs, M.: Das Planetarische Politisch(e) Denken [Thinking the Planetary Politics, Thinking the Planetary Politically] , in: Politische Vierteljahresschrift/German Political Science Quarterly.63:4, 703-728.
2021
- Hanusch, F., Leggewie, C., Meyer, E.: Planetar denken. Ein Einstieg. Bielefeld: transcript.
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Asenbaum, H., Hanusch, F.: (De)Futuring Democracy. Labs, Playgrounds, and Ateliers as Democratic Innovations, in:Futures. 134: December 2021, 102836, 1-11.
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Hanusch, F.: Embeddedness as an Integrative Quality Assessment Tool for Student-Centered Extracurricular Studies, in: HINT – Heidelberg Inspirations for Innovative Teaching. 2:2, 93-117.
2021
- Hanusch, F., Leggewie, C., Meyer, E.: Planetar denken. Ein Einstieg. Bielefeld: transcript.
2020
- Hanusch, F.: Demokratie und Klimawandel, in: Demokratie gegen Menschenfeindlichkeit. 5:2, 18-21.
2019
- Hanusch, F., Biermann, F.: Deep-time organizations: Learning institutional longevity from history, in: The Anthropocene Review. 7:1, 19-41.
2018
- Hanusch, F.: Democracy and Climate Change. London/New York: Routledge.
2016
- WBGU (Co-author): Development and justice through transformation: The Four Big ‘I’s, Special Report, Berlin: WBGU.
2016
- Leggewie, C., Hanusch, F., Schmitt, L., Reicher, C.: Einleitung [Introduction], in: Leggewie, C., Reicher, C., Schmitt, L. (eds.): Geschichten einer Region. AgentInnen des Wandels für ein nachhaltiges Ruhrgebiet. Dortmund: Kettler, 8-17.
- WBGU (Co-author): Humanity on the move: Unlocking the transformative power of cities, Flagship Report, Berlin: WBGU.
2015
- Hanusch, F.: The Role of Norms for U.S. Foreign Climate Policy, in: Sommer, Bernd (ed.): Cultural Dynamics of Climate Change and the Environment in Northern America, Leiden/Boston: Brill, 77-105. Peer reviewed.
- Müngersdorff, M., Hanusch, F., Schad, M., Schmitt, L., Schönborn, S., Siepmann, M., Voss, E.: Building Europe‘s (Energy) Future. A Manifesto For a European Community for Energy Transition.
2014
- Hanusch, F.: Zur Feindschaft zwischen Erkenntnisfortschritt und Plagiarismus [On the Enmity between the Advancement of Knowledge and Plagiarism], in: Zeitschrift für Politikwissenschaft (ZPol) 23:4, 627-638.
- WBGU (Co-author): Climate Protection as a World Citizen Movement, Special Report, Berlin: WBGU.
- WBGU (Co-author): Human Progress within Planetary Guard Rails. A Contribution to the SDG Debate, Policy Paper. Berlin: WBGU.
2012
- Hanusch, F., Müngersdorff, M.: Karl Polanyi: The Great Transformation, in: Leggewie, C., Zifonun, D., Lang, A., Siepmann, M., Hoppen, J. (eds.): Schlüsselwerke der Kulturwissenschaften, Bielefeld: transcript, 274-276.
- Hanusch, F., Müngersdorff, M., Voß, E.: Klimawandel als Chance für mehr Demokratie [Climate Change as a Chance for More Democracy], in: Kirchlicher Herausgeberkreis Jahrbuch Gerechtigkeit (eds.): Jahrbuch Gerechtigkeit V. Menschen, Klima, Zukunft, Glashütten: C & P Verlagsgesellschaft, 130-137.
2010
- Fischer, B., Hanusch, F., Hörisch, J., Löw, F., Raecke, R., Schöneborn, K., Zech, J.: Ökosozial ist sexy - Über die soziale Dimension der Umweltpolitik [Eco-Social is sexy – On the Social Dimensions of Environmental Policy], in: Neue Gesellschaft Frankfurter Hefte 57:5, 44-47.