Stig Eduard Breitenstein Jensen

Stig Eduard Breitenstein Jensen

Associate Professor

Member of:

    Research

    My research is based on an interdisciplinary approach to navigating ‘landscapes’ affected by what Bent Flyvbjerg terms as “Science Wars”. Interdisciplinarity has the capacity to accommodate diversity, to “orchestrate the sciences” by combining them productively and applying them to an understanding of the complexities related to the environment and sustainability. I am inspired by social constructivism, discourse analysis, and critical political ecology, among other approaches.

    Primary fields of research:

    Environment and Sustainability
    * The role of the market in relation to environmental sustainability
    * Ecotourism, both North-South and South-South, rural and urban
    * Wildlands/biodiversity conservation
    * Integration of development and conservation policies
    * Climate change, both mitigation and adaptation

    Higher education and capacity building in Africa
    * Knowledge and knowledge production under changing conditions in African universities
    * North-South cooperation linked to higher education and capacity building

    Political development and governance in Africa
    * Trends in Africa’s political development
    * National and local governance related to institutional capacities
    * The on-going Zimbabwe crisis with special focus on socio-economic and environmental issues

    Security and Conflict in Africa
    *
    Rural land conflicts, land/green grabbing
    * International strategies related to security and development

    Development Aid
    * Bilateral development policy with special focus on Danish aid
    * Aid and poverty alleviation in Africa
    * Entrepreneurial private sector and NGO aid interventions


    Current research:

    The following are concrete research areas:

    The Role of the Market in Promoting Sustainability:
    This research focuses on payments for environmental services or other forms of market mechanisms (such as tourism) designed as a pro-poor strategy for sustainable development in Africa. It examines stakeholder perceptions of synergies between poverty alleviation and conservation of natural resources. A new focus is on the implications of urban-based eco-tourism for rural livelihoods and biodiversity.

    Governing Natural Resources under Globalisation
    This focuses on multi-layered environmental governance systems - the roles and effects of international, national and local governance actors on natural resource management in Africa with special focus on conservation of biodiversity in Africa.

    The future of capacity building in African higher education
    This focuses on the geography of knowledge and knowledge production in African institutions, scholars and student. Looking and working around African universities struggling to balance demands for internationalisation and/or Africanisation linked to knowledge, knowledge production and specific curriculum.

    Helping Africa?
    This focuses on Danish development aid policies, as well as the implications of new entrepreneurial private sector/ NGO initiatives in Africa.


    Teaching and supervision

    Current core teaching:

    * Nature, Population and Society in Africa (core course)
    * Africa and Globalisation: Linking and Delinking Practices in Perspective
    * Governing Africa’s Natural Resources

    Recent/past teaching:

    * Helping Africa?
    * Thesis seminar
    * Modern Conflict – New Wars (in cooperation with Thomas Mandrup, FAK)
    * Politics, development and change in Africa
    * In a climate of climatic changes
    * Society and Environment in Africa
    * New hope for Africa?
    * Africa on Business Class
    * External sources for Africa's Development
    * Is Africa on the way to achieving the Millennium Development Goals?
    * Africa under globalisation
    * Academic dissimilation

    Occasional teaching experiences at other Danish and international universities.

    Supervision of PhD and MA students with different topics related to Africa.

    ID: 923917