Patrick James Wagner

Patrick James Wagner serves as a Research Fellow at the University of Konstanz's Cluster of Excellence "The Politics of Inequality," specializing in interdisciplinary research on global socioeconomic and environmental disparities.

His academic credentials include a PhD in Political Science from the University of Bern, an MSc in International Public Policy from University College London, and a BA in International Relations and Political Science from the University of California, Davis.

Wagner's research centers on international political economy with emphatic focus on:

• Democratic institutional variation and trade policy outcomes
• Geopolitical implications of China's economic rise for labor markets and diplomatic relations
• Globalization-labor nexus dynamics across developed and emerging economies
• Distributional and ecological consequences of international trade agreements
• Public opinion formation regarding inequality and climate change mitigation policies
• Cross-national feedback loops between economic integration and environmental sustainability

As a core member of the International Politics - Global Inequality research group, he investigates how trade liberalization and investment flows amplify societal divisions while undermining climate action, with current projects analyzing policy synergies for equitable decarbonization pathways.