Team

Matthias Kranke has been Junior Professor of Global Sustainability Governance since April 2025. His current research focuses on the global governance of intersecting social, economic and ecological issues. Within this scope, Matthias pays particular attention to the tensions between the norm of economic growth and the goal of socio-ecological sustainability, asking how much traction ideas beyond growth have gained in key sites of global governance. Trained in International Relations and International Political Economy, he regularly draws on insights from other fields, such as ecological economics, (organisational) sociology or sustainability studies. His interdisciplinary orientation is reflected in collaborations with colleagues working in fields as diverse as environmental psychology, forest and environmental policy, history, and social policy. When conducting empirical research, Matthias primarily uses qualitative methods, especially document analysis, (elite) interviews and participant observation. He has accordingly published in leading disciplinary and interdisciplinary journals, including Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions, European Journal of International Relations, Global Policy, Global Society, International Affairs, New Political Economy, Review of International Political Economy and Review of International Studies.

Before his appointment to the College, Matthias Kranke worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Kassel and at the University of Warwick, UK, where he completed his PhD in 2017, and Freie Universität Berlin. He was also a Fellow at the Freiburg Institute for Advanced Studies (FRIAS) and a Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Global Cooperation Research.

Tabea Waltenberg joined the College for Social Sciences and Humanities as a research assistant and PhD candidate in May 2025 as part of the research group ’Global Sustainability Governance’. In her dissertation project, she researches post-growth ideas and policy in international organisations with a focus on the United Nations. 

Tabea Waltenberg studied Economics (BSc) and Economic Psychology (MSc). Before joining the College, she worked at the intersection between science, civil society and policy as a research assistant in various organisations. At the ZOE Institute for Future-fit Economies, her work focused on EU-policymaking beyond growth. At the Science Shop Bonn, she worked on citizen engagement in international and national sustainability projects. The implementation of the Agenda 2030 and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals in Germany and abroad were at the centre of her position at the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) Germany, hosted by the German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS). 

Tabea Waltenberg’s main research interests encompass post-growth / degrowth, sufficiency, sustainable development, sustainability policy, and socio-ecological transformation.