Dr Hannes Hansen-Magnusson

Publication

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Research

My research is located in international relations with particular interests in the spatial dimensions of global politics. I use methodologies anchored in the sociology of knowledge tradition to look at the intersection of actors, practices and the role of culture at different levels of world politics. Conceptually, the role of "responsibility" has been at the heart of my research for some time. Empirically, I focus on the polar regions and global oceans, leading research projects that focus on the Sustainable Development Goals. I am interested in questions of legitimacy and am currently engaged in studying the rise of responsibility discourses across interlinked governance fields (economics, security, environment) and with regard to a number of objects of international politics (oceans, oil, fish, the earth's atmosphere).

My work draws on hermeneutic philosophy and praxiographic methodology in order to understand micro-practices of interaction processes and their relation to macro structures. My research can be represented in three strands:

1. Geopolitics of Polar Regions and Oceans

International Relations is mostly concerned with land-based activities and has thereby largely neglected oceans and polar regions. It has thereby overlooked the intersection of geoeconomics and geopolitics in significant parts of the planet. Facilitated by climate change and new technologies, access to different and new resources (e.g. fish, oil, gas) as well as infrastructure developments (shipping lanes, ports, rail, telecommunication) raise questions of access, ownership and participation of governance arrangements within and beyond areas of national jurisdiction, including SDGs. In addition, local and indigenous communities are under increasing pressure to adapt to the changing environment and novel economic activities, thereby linking the local and the global. Given the diverse set of demands for access to resources from state and non-state actors, my research seeks to address how the institutional architecture of the global political economy can accommodate diversity within frameworks of justice.

My research in this field has been funded by the British International Studies Association with an Early Career Fellowship and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation. I host the Arctic Relations blog which presents academic research and societal topics from the Arctic region. I am currently Co-PI on two case studies within the "Justnorth" Project and Co-Leader of the workpackage "Justice in Scale and Dimension". "Justnorth" is funded by the EU Horizon 2020 programme (grant agreement 869327): www.justnorth.eu. The project explores the multitude of ethical systems that coexist in the Arctic, as a starting point to assess the viability of new economic activities in the region and achievement of SDGs. Increasing geopolitical tensions among some of the Arctic states increases the importance of respecting different value systems while finding common values to help strengthen the links between Arctic and non-Arctic entities. Significant practice and policy gaps in existing Arctic economic activities have led to a development that is unsustainable. Through understanding current practices of development in the Arctic through the lens of 18 case studies, "Justnorth" aims to develop conceptual frameworks, indices and a negotiation tool, for reconciling multiple ethics and value systems.

Associated publications include:

Hansen-Magnusson, H. (2022). Die "eingebundenheit" der polargebiete: zeit für einen metaphernwechsel in den internationalen beziehungen?. Zeitschrift für Internationale Beziehungen 29(1): 141-154.

Hansen-Magnusson, H. 2022. Making polar and ocean governance future-proof. Politics and Governance 10(3), pp. 60-69.

Hansen-Magnusson, H. (2019). "Arctic geopoetics: Russian politics at the North Pole." Cooperation and Conflict 54(4): 466-487.

Hansen-Magnusson, H. (2019). "The Web of Responsibility in and for the Arctic." Cambridge Review of International Affairs 32(2): 132-158.

Hansen-Magnusson, H. (2019). "The future of the Antarctic Treaty." In: Arguello, J. ed. A 60 años del Acuerdo de Washington: El futuro de la Antártida. Buenos Aires: UADE.

Hansen-Magnusson, H. (2020). The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. International Relations as Politics among People - Hermeneutic Encounters and Global Governance. H. Hansen-Magnusson. London, Routledge: chapter 4.

2. European and Global Politics of Responsibility

Responsibility has emerged as the central concept in global politics in recent decades, changing the ways in which governance works across multiple levels, sites and issue areas. For one, 'responsibilization' concerns questions of global political economy in terms of 'corporate responsibility', and multiple dimensions of sustainability, including human rights issues in production processes, as well as resource extraction and use. Similarly, the 'responsibility to protect' has altered the relation between states globally as well as local state-citizen relations, affecting our understanding of state sovereignty and human security. Finally, 'common but differentiated responsibility' has enabled states of the global north and global south to agree to a framework for environmental governance that takes into account historical levels of industrial activities. Such widespread 'responsibilization' is not without contestation, though, creating novel webs of relations between actors and objects of responsibility. It requires research to scrutinise the normative foundations of global politics.

My research in this area has been funded by the International Studies Association and the Fritz-Thyssen-Foundation.

Associated publications include:

Hansen-Magnusson, H. (2019). "The Web of Responsibility in and for the Arctic." Cambridge Review of International Affairs 32(2): 132-158.

Hansen-Magnusson, H. and Vetterlein, A. eds. (2020). The Rise of Responsibility in World Politics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Vetterlein, A. and Hansen-Magnusson, H. (2020). "The Rise of Responsibility in World Politics." In: Hansen-Magnusson, H. and Vetterlein, A. eds. The Rise of Responsibility in World Politics.  Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 3-32.

Hansen-Magnusson, H. and Vetterlein, A. (2020). "Responsibility and Virtue Ethics." In: Hansen-Magnusson, H. and Vetterlein, A. eds. The Rise of Responsibility in World Politics.  Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 233-238.

Hansen-Magnusson, H. and A. Vetterlein, Eds. (2021). The Routledge Handbook on Responsibility in International Relations. London and New York, Routledge.

Hansen-Magnusson, H. and A. Vetterlein (2021). "Responsibility in International Relations Theory and Practice: Introducing the Handbook." In: H. Hansen-Magnusson and Vetterlein, A. eds. The Routledge Handbook on Responsibility in International Relations. London and New York, Routledge.

3. Concepts and theories of global politics

Regarding the provision of global public goods and achievement of SDGs, regulatory frameworks, norms, institutional structures, and international organisations do not emerge out of thin air. They are created, instantiated, and altered in human interaction, which is based on meaning-making practices. Drawing on hermeneutic methodology, this research bridges local and global levels to highlight power dynamics as well as ideational pathways in the design of governance institutions. The aim is to make visible and thereby enable a debate about the core questions of politics, i.e. who is getting what from whom, when and how.

Associated Publications include:

Hansen-Magnusson, H. (2022). Die "eingebundenheit" der polargebiete: zeit für einen metaphernwechsel in den internationalen beziehungen?. Zeitschrift für Internationale Beziehungen 29(1): 141-154.

Gholiagha, S., H. Hansen-Magnusson and M. Hofius (2021). Meaning-in-use: Zum Verhältnis von Normativität und Normalität in der Normenforschung. In: Engelkamp, S., K. Glaab, and A. Graf (eds.) Kritische Normenforschung in den Internationalen Beziehungen: Neue Wege und metatheoretische Perspektiven. Baden-Baden: Nomos, pp. 223-252.

Hansen-Magnusson, H. (2020). International Relations as Politics among People - Hermeneutic Encounters and Global Governance. London, Routledge.

Hansen-Magnusson, H., A. Vetterlein and A. Wiener (2018). "The problem of non-compliance: knowledge gaps and moments of contestation in global governance." Journal of International Relations and Development 23: 636-656.

Hofius, M., J. Wilkens, H. Hansen-Magnusson and S. Gholiagha (2014). "Den Schleier lichten? Kritische Normenforschung, Freiheit und Gleichberechtigung im Kontext des "Arabischen Frühlings"." Zeitschrift für Internationale Beziehungen 21(2): 85-107.

Hansen-Magnusson, H. and A. Wiener (2010). "Studying Contemporary Constitutionalism: Memory, Myth and Horizon", Journal of Common Market Studies, 48 (1): 21-44.

Teaching

Teaching

I teach on the following modules

• International Security: Concepts & Issues
• Global Governance
• Critical Geopolitics: Power, Territory, and Society in the Arctic
• Multilateralism

Supervision

I am happy to supervise BSc, MSc and PhD research. Themes could cover:

• Polar & ocean governance
• Global Governance & Spatial politics
• (European) "Responsibility" in world politics, incl. the role of norms, ideas, and cultural practices
• International Relations Theory, especially focussing on constructivist approaches broadly understood

Biography

Since February 2022: Reader in International Relations (backdated to August 2021)

Honours and awards

• 2019 - Enriching Student Life Award – nominated as "Most Innovative Member of Staff"
• 2018 - Fellow Academy of Higher Education
• 2017 - Early Career Fellow, British International Studies Association

Professional memberships

• Association for Learning Technology (ALT)
• British International Studies Association (BISA)
• European International Studies Association (EISA)
• German Political Science Association (DVPW)
• International Studies Association (ISA)

Academic positions

09/2019-08/2021: Senior Lecturer in International Relations, Cardiff University

09/2015-08/2019: Lecturer in International Relations, Cardiff University

04/2009-08/2015: Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter (Research & Teaching Associate / Lecturer), Global Governance, University of Hamburg (part-time)

10/2008-03/2009: Teaching Assistant, University of Bath, Comparative Politics and Introduction to Political Science

Committees and reviewing

• ArcticNet
• Area
• CHANSE (Collaboration of Humanities and Social Sciences in Europe)
• Contemporary Politics
• European Consortium for Political Research
• German-Israeli Foundation for Scientific Research and Development
• Global Constitutionalism – Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law
• Global Society
• International Studies Quarterly
• Journal of Common Market Studies
• Journal of International Relations and Development
• Marine Policy
• Millennium – Journal of International Studies
• Polar Politics
• Policy Studies
• Review of Constitutional Studies/Revue d'études constitutionnelles
• Routledge (Monograph Series)
• Security Dialogue
• Springer / Palgrave Macmillan
• The Polar Journal
• Zeitschrift für Internationale Beziehungen

Supervisions

Supervision

I am happy to supervise BSc, MSc and PhD research. Themes could cover:

• Polar & ocean governance
• Global Governance & Spatial politics
• (European) "Responsibility" in world politics, incl. the role of norms, ideas, and cultural practices
• International Relations Theory, especially focussing on constructivist approaches broadly understood