Sylvia Bergh

Sylvia Bergh is an Associate Professor in Development Management and Governance at the International Institute of Social Studies (ISS), Erasmus University Rotterdam. She simultaneously holds a position as Senior Researcher at the Centre of Expertise on Global Governance at The Hague University of Applied Sciences since September 2020. Her work bridges academic research with practical policy applications, focusing on pressing societal issues requiring multi-stakeholder and multi-level governance approaches.

Dr. Bergh's research interests center on the 'politics of development,' particularly examining citizen-state relations and how different authorities and ordinary citizens negotiate access to services, information, and social justice. Her work spans several interconnected domains: adaptation to heatwaves from a governance perspective, governance of Artificial Intelligence, humanitarian and social accountability, local governance and decentralization, natural resource management (particularly water and mining), and public sector reform. Her geographic focus centers on the Global South, with particular expertise in the Middle East and North Africa region, especially Morocco.

Her recent publications reveal a strong thematic concentration on social accountability mechanisms in the Arab world following the 2011 uprisings, with significant attention to Morocco, Tunisia, and Lebanon. She has also expanded her research agenda to address climate change adaptation, particularly heatwave governance, and the emerging field of AI governance. Her scholarly approach combines political science, governance studies, and development perspectives, often employing interdisciplinary methods to address complex societal challenges.

Dr. Bergh is actively engaged in teaching and supervision at BA, MA, and PhD levels in political science, governance, and public policy & management. She emphasizes the importance of listening to research needs of actors on the ground and disseminating results through extensive networks to influence policy at various governance levels. She explicitly states that improving people's lives through research is central to her work and welcomes PhD candidates and international research collaborations in her areas of expertise.