Fascinated by questions as “who gets what and why”

Lisa Dellmuth, professor at the Department of Economic History and International Relations. Photo: Rickard Kilström

“My research focuses on questions of legitimacy, distribution and climate cooperation in global governance. I have also investigated humanitarian aid allocation and am interested in researching how well international organizations such as the African Union, European Union and the United Nations fare in addressing important problems in fair, legitimate, and effective ways.”
 
Lisa Dellmuth is also interested in how individual people perceive of the international organizations addressing pressing problems, such as climate change, economic inequality, and food insecurity.
 
“It matters for the effectiveness of these organizations if ordinary citizens think these institutions are proper and use their power appropriately. Are policies fair and legitimate? Legitimacy is a crucial resource for political institutions to solve problems, particularly for international institutions. It is important to understand the sources of such perceptions. I have also studied how justice and fairness perceptions are related and how such perceptions are rooted in the socioeconomic inequalities which characterize our home regions or countries.”  

How did you get into this?

“The questions of ‘who gets what and why’, and people’s perceptions of how societies distribute resources, has always fascinated me. I’ve been trained in both public opinion research and in political economy during my PhD studies, so I could pursue these questions in my later career. I am grateful for this privilege and hope to use it to advance knowledge in ways that are useful for society, especially for social groups who are vulnerable. Doing research on climate cooperation is especially important to me. Climate change is the central challenge of our time and we know too little about how to govern climate change in ways that are fair and legitimate, and accepted by people.”  
 
More broadly, her work on climate change adaptation aims to draw attention to justice and legitimacy issues, and Lisa Dellmuth regularly interact with practitioners or policymakers on the topic. 
 
“We need to find better solutions to adapt to climate change in ways that are fair and legitimate. What people think matters and needs to be considered if we want to find lasting solutions for climate change.”

This year's Inauguration and conferment ceremony in the Stockholm City Hall will take place on 29 September. Photo: Ingmarie Andersson

Inauguration and Conferment ceremony in the City Hall

Lisa Dellmuth is a new professor who took office in April 2022. As other new professors she is invited to the Inauguration and conferment ceremony in the Stockholm City Hall 29 September 2023. The professorial installation is the occasion when the new professors are welcomed to the university and their different subject areas are brought to attention.