Antonio Basilicata

The Role of Norms in EU Forest Nature Conservation Politics (Doctoral Dissertation, ongoing) 

Even though basic scientific knowledge on the importance of biodiversity and its conservation have been known for decades, the related issues are perceived differently by states and other actors in Europe. At the same time, numerous biodiversity indicators are showing negative trends and especially forest ecosystems are increasingly affected by biodiversity degradation. On top of that, global warming in light of climate change will amplify the biodiversity crisis in upcoming years and decades. In the European Union (EU), many efforts have been taken to conserve and restore biodiversity in forests. For instance, recent political developments under the European Green Deal such as the new EU strategies on forests and biodiversity or the Nature Restoration Law aim at improving the ecological, economic and social transformation of Europe and its forest landscapes. However, the fact that forest policy does not fall within the legislative competence of the EU, but extends across several political sectors, makes the field and its involved norms highly contested due to the myriad of involved actors. Their either complementary or conflicting goals and problem perceptions pose a challenge for forest nature conservation politics.

To capture the complex conglomerate, this cumulative PhD dissertation addresses knowledge gaps in forest nature conservation politics by focusing on the role of norms and their contestation at different levels of governance. Building on IR theories, I focus on top-down normative influences from the European to the national level, bottom-up contestation by affected stakeholders, as well as norm contestation through courts like the European Court of Justice and national constitutional courts. Qualitative methods and social network analysis are used as methods throughout the dissertation.

Research Topics

Forest Nature Conservation Politics
Climate Politics
Environmental Norms & Norm Contestation
European Union
IR Theories
(Discourse) Network Analysis