Alexander Dunlap

Alexander Dunlap is a Research Scientist at Boston University's Institute for Global Sustainability (IGS) and a visiting research fellow at the University of Helsinki's Global Development Studies department. He holds a PhD in Social Anthropology from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, an MSc in Modules from the University of Sussex (UK), an MA in Environment, Development and Policy from Sussex, and a BS in Political Science from Portland State University (USA). His work critically examines energy transitions, extractive industries, and the socioecological impacts of green capitalism.

Research Interests:

• Political ecology of low-carbon technologies
• Green extractivism in global contexts
• Decolonial and anarchist approaches to sustainability
• State violence and counterinsurgency tactics
• Environmental justice in renewable energy projects

Publications: Dunlap’s recent work focuses on solar energy injustices in California, industrial solar manufacturing in Ohio, and the militarization of nature. His articles interrogate how 'green' infrastructure reinforces colonial and capitalist systems, often through spatial dispossession and anti-Indigenous violence.

Labs/Teams: Active in IGS research clusters studying infrastructural harm and energy justice. Co-editor of Human Geography, a journal promoting radical interdisciplinary scholarship.

Future Work: Continuing research on solar project lifecycles, particularly mining-to-decommissioning impacts, and expanding analysis of Europe’s energy grid conflicts.