Dr. Susanne Rhein

Susanne Rhein is a postdoctoral researcher at the Chair of Environmental Economics. She is a member of the DFG research unit Big Structural Change (BISC), where she contributes to the subproject Be Net Zero.

Her research focuses on the political consequences of large-scale societal transformations, such as those driven by climate change mitigation and globalization. Adopting a political economy perspective, she examines how political responses to these transformations can shape political behavior and, under certain conditions, undermine the legitimacy of established political and economic systems. Complementing this line of work, her research also investigates how political actors can strengthen the legitimacy of such policy responses and whether these efforts help sustain public support for transformative interventions.

Susanne completed her doctoral degree at ETH Zurich in 2025 as part of the International Political Economy and Environmental Politics group. She holds a master’s degree in political science, with a focus on comparative politics and international relations, from the University of Salzburg. She also worked as a research intern at the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Her research has been published in international peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of European Public Policy, Global Environmental Politics, and Climatic Change.

RESEARCH FOCUS

Political Behavior
Comparative Political Economy
Environmental Politics
(Experimental) Survey Methodology
 

For more information visit Susanne's google scholar or ORCID profile.