About
Professor Doris Fuchs, Ph.D., is Chair of Sustainable Development at the University of Münster’s Institute of Political Science and since 2023 also Director of the Research Institute for Sustainability (RIFS) at the Helmholtz Centre Potsdam. She co-directs the Center for Interdisciplinary Sustainability Research (ZIN) and leads the Research Lab Democracy & Sustainability, engaging in inter- and trans-disciplinary projects on consumption, governance, justice and systemic transformation.
Education:
- 1994-1997 Ph.D. Politics & Economics, Claremont Graduate University, USA
- 1992-1994 M.A. International Political Economy, Claremont Graduate University
- 1991-1992 M.A. English, Claremont Graduate University
- 1990-1991 American Studies, University of Virginia
- 1988-1990 German & English Studies, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf
Research interests: Her work centres on sustainable consumption and lifestyles within planetary boundaries, global sustainability governance spanning energy, climate, environment, agrifood and finance, and the intersection of democracy, power, participation and justice. She develops transformative, inter- and trans-disciplinary methodologies to foster sustainability transitions.
Publication trends: Recent articles (2023-2025) investigate 1.5 °C lifestyles, consumption corridors, shared responsibility, gender dimensions of sustainability governance, and democratic innovations such as “democracy labs”. Journals span sustainability science, policy, political theory and consumption studies, emphasising structural barriers, stakeholder perspectives and policy mixes for deep decarbonisation.
Grants & projects: She currently coordinates or co-investigates major EU and German federal projects including ULYSSEUS, BIOSTORE, INCITE-DEM, SUNRISE Lab, EU 1.5° Lifestyles, and the Excellence Cluster “Religion & Politics”, securing multimillion-euro funding for sustainability and participation research.
Advising & labs: Prof. Fuchs supervises a select cohort of doctoral researchers working on sustainable consumption/production, climate & energy governance, corporate power and global agrifood politics. Her Research Lab Democracy & Sustainability and ZIN provide interdisciplinary infrastructure and networks for empirical fieldwork, stakeholder dialogues and transformative experiments.
