Malo Jan

Please tell us about your research project.
I am a PhD student in political science at Sciences Po, and my research focuses on the increasing political polarization around climate change in Western Europe. While climate change is not a completely new topic in public debates, it was, for a long time, an issue with limited contestation in Western European countries, where most political parties agreed on the need to address the problem. Over the past few years, however, it has become a much more prominent and contested topic, following events such as mass climate protests and significant heatwaves in 2018 and 2019. Since then, the political debate has shifted considerably, and we are now increasingly talking about a “climate backlash”, a reaction to the push for climate action, characterized by growing opposition to the costs associated with implementing climate policies. The goal of my dissertation is to understand this shift, focusing in particular on the conflictual strategies that radical right parties have developed in response to climate policies, and how other parties, previously supportive of climate action, are navigating this new conflict.

Could you please tell us a bit more about your scholarship/exchange programme?
I am visiting Oxford for two terms as part of the OXPO partnership between Sciences Po and the University of Oxford. Here, I am affiliated with the Department of Politics and International Relations, where I have the opportunity to conduct my research and participate in departmental seminars, as well as other political science events such as the Nuffield College seminar series.

First impressions of Oxford/the University?
I really enjoy the city, it is incredibly beautiful and a great place to work. It is a truly special place with its life organized around the colleges. They arere wonderful to walk through, whether you are stopping for lunch, exploring the gardens and chapels, or attending a formal dinner. The academic life itself is also very impressive, with opportunities to attend interesting events every day. One often underrated aspect is the city's proximity to nature, which is amazing, especially for someone living in Paris, where green spaces are quite limited.