CSSN is an international network of social science scholars focused on understanding the cultural and institutional dynamics of the political conflict over climate change.

ABOUT CSSN

The Latest

Latest
CSSN Research Report 2022:1: Climate-Washing Litigation: Legal Liability for Misleading Climate Communications
A new research report from the Climate Social Science Network enhances the legal community’s understanding of climate-related ‘greenwashing’ litigation.
Latest
CSSN Request for Proposals for Social Science Research into the Structural, Political, and Institutional Dynamics of Climate Change Politics
The Climate Social Science Network announces new funding applications for 2022-2023.
direct air capture
Latest
Attractions of delay: Using deliberative engagement to investigate the political and strategic impacts of greenhouse gas removal technologies
Research from CSSN scholars Duncan McLaren and Nils Markusson evaluates how to minimize mitigation deterrence when it comes to greenhouse gas removal. 
Latest
CSSN Research Report 2021:3 – New Report Illustrates Patterns of Pro-Fossil Fuel Influence on Climate and Energy Issues in Connecticut
Electric and gas utilities lead opposition to climate solutions by outspending climate advocates as much as 8-1 on lobbying.
Latest
Analysis: PR Firms a Dominant Force in Obstructing Climate Action
New research from CSSN Director of Research Robert Brulle and Cartie Werthman finds public relations firms are a major force in U.S. climate change obstruction
Latest
CSSN Scholars in the News at COP 26
CSSN scholars were widely cited in news stories about COP 26 in Glasgow and its implications
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CSSN in Action

The Latest Research
 The latest releases of research from CSSN Scholars around the world, advancing knowledge about climate conflicts and organizations obstructing action on climate change.
Our Working Groups
 CSSN working groups bring together scholars with shared interests, for discussion and collaborative research. The working groups will provide input into the CSSN Research Agenda. The groups are self-organizing and directing, and we hope to provide seed funding.
Our Projects
 CSSN scholars have several projects underway that evaluate the institutional and cultural dynamics of climate-related political conflicts.

Welcome to CSSN

CSSN Seeks to:

  • Coordinate, conduct, and support peer-reviewed research into the institutional and cultural dynamics of political conflicts around climate change,
  • Assist scholars to communicate the results of this research to policymakers, the public, and the wider climate change community, and
  • Conduct educational activities regarding the results of the research to inform the political, legal, and media communities.

Featured Scholar: Dieter Plehwe

Dieter Plehwe is a senior fellow at the Berlin Social Science Center, Center for Civil Society Research and Lecturer in Political Science at the University of Kassel. His research areas include international and comparative political economy, neoliberalism, think tank networks and environmental, energy and climate politics. He co-edited “Nine Lives of Neoliberalism” (Verso 2020), “Roads from Mont Pèlerin” (Harvard University Press 2009/15) and “Liberalism and the Welfare State (Oxford University Press 2017). He serves as a main editor of the Journal Critical Policy Studies and launched the data repository and blog which you can view here.

Learn more about Dieter Plehwe.

Featured Research

Solar Geoengineering Research in the United States: Key Critical Questions

In a new CSSN Position Paper, CSSN Scholars Prakash Kashwan, Duncan McLaren, Jennie Stephens, and Kevin Surprise outline three areas of key questions to ask about any effort to advance solar geoengineering research using public funds.

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