Vonintsoa Rafaly

Vonintsoa Rafaly serves as a Research Fellow at the University of Copenhagen's Department of Political Science within the Faculty of Social Sciences, holding a concurrent Guest Researcher position. She extends her academic engagement as a visiting lecturer at the University of Gothenburg (Sweden) and University of Nantes (France), while maintaining memberships in the Centre de Droit Maritime et Océanique (Nantes), Centre for Sea and Society (Gothenburg), and IUCN World Commission on Environmental Law. Her institutional collaborations include editorial work for the Law of the Sea: Contemporary Norms and Practice in Africa Project at Nelson Mandela University.

Her research critically examines ocean governance through theoretical lenses of common interest, international solidarity, and environmental justice, focusing on intersections between law of the sea, environmental law, and climate change frameworks. Current work with the Ocean Infrastructure Research Group investigates shipping's environmental consequences using infrastructure theory, incorporating empirical analysis of marine safety institutions and vulnerable regions. She has developed UN E-sea Programme e-learning materials and teaches specialized courses including Law of the Sea, Marine Environmental Protection, and Fisheries Sustainability.

Analysis of her 2021-2025 publications reveals consistent thematic focus on legal responses to anthropogenic ocean challenges, with particular emphasis on regime interaction, justice dimensions in maritime spaces, and evolving concepts like marine living resources. Her scholarship demonstrates increasing engagement with infrastructure-related harms and climate litigation mechanisms, reflecting adaptive approaches to contemporary environmental governance gaps.

No documented scientific awards or research grants appear in available materials. While her teaching roles indicate mentorship capacity, specific doctoral advisees are not listed in the provided text.