Diane Robert

Diane Robert is a researcher specializing in geography and sociology of environmental conflicts in Tunisia and Morocco. Currently at the Jacques Berque Center, Rabat, she investigates the Moroccan phosphate sector's greening and regional integration through an International postdoctoral mobility grant (2024-2025), analyzing multi-scale industrial expansion strategies and socio-environmental impacts.

She holds a PhD with the thesis "La pollution, dégage ! Une approche géographique des mobilisations liées aux nuisances industrielles dans la Tunisie post-2011" (Pollution, step aside! A geographical approach to mobilizations related to industrial nuisances in post-2011 Tunisia), conducted through affiliations with UMR Ladyss and ERC Tarica projects.

Dr. Robert's research focuses on:

• Geography and sociology of mobilizations
• Proximity conflicts
• Industrial overflows in territories
• Work-environment relations
• Production of space
• Industrial policies
• Sectors and value chains

Her fieldwork in Gabès and Sfax examines how environmental injustices drive social movements and territorial reconfigurations, with emphasis on phosphate industries and post-2011 political transitions.

She has secured competitive grants including the current postdoctoral mobility award and contributed to projects like Amidex Envimouv (2021-2022) and ERC Tarica (2017-2022), actively collaborating with Mediterranean research networks on socio-environmental challenges.

Dr. Robert's current work involves collective fieldwork in Gabès for the Raḥāba project (2024-present), organizing study days on habitability, and presenting findings at international conferences on extractivism, sustainable development governance, and environmental mobilizations across the Maghreb.