Dr Mattias Hjort

Office hours (term time only, excluding reading weeks):

• Thursdays: 14.30-15.50
• Fridays: 15.30-16.50 

Room 610

• PhD International Development, University of Birmingham, 2016
• MA Global Studies, University of Göteborg, Sweden, 2010
• MSc International and European Relations, University of Linköping, Sweden, 2008
• BSc Environmental Science, University of Linköping, Sweden, 2006

Mattias came to the University of Birmingham in 2011 to start a PhD degree with the International Development Department. Prior to that he studied at the universities of Göteborg and Linköping in Sweden, and worked as a car mechanic at Gummigubben. His PhD on the policy mechanism Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+) was supervised by Dr Fiona Nunan and Dr Emma A. Foster. During and after his PhD, he has been teaching on modules including: Introduction to Political Economy, Analysing Political Worlds, and Critical Approaches to Development.

From September 2017, he will be taking up a Teaching Fellow position in the Department of Political Science and International Studies. In addition to this, he undertakes research in collaboration with Dr Danielle Beswick of the International Development Department on the Conservative Party’s overseas social action projects.  

• Introduction to Political Economy (UG 1 year)
• International Political Economy (UG 2 year)
• Global Governance (UG 2 year)
• Populism, Radicalism and Conservatism in British Party Politics (PG) 

Research interests

Mattias’ PhD research focused on global climate negotiations and in particular the policy mechanism Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+) from a governmentality and actor-network theory perspective, thereby elucidating its dominant discourses and practices of government.

Current projects

Since March 2017, Mattias also undertakes research with Dr Danielle Beswick on the Conservative Party’s overseas social action projects. The title for this research project is:

• Building Support for International Development: Expectations and Impacts of Conservative Party Overseas Volunteering Projects.