Session Lead

Dr. Otto Hospes is Associate Professor Global Politics of Food Systems at Wageningen University, focusing on the governance of sustainability in transnational value chains. His research examines how state and non-state actors from the Global South and Global North negotiate policies, with attention to differing values, knowledge systems, and decision-making approaches. He has published extensively on sustainable palm oil governance in Indonesia, including initiatives like RSPO and ISPO, and on conflicts between local communities and companies linked to plantation expansion. More recently, his work explores tensions between the European Union and Global South countries over environmental policies on renewable energy, deforestation, and due diligence. Dr. Hospes is the lead editor of the forthcoming volume The EU Green Deal in Southeast Asia: Critical Approaches to Policy Discourse and Implementation (Routledge), and co-author of the book (2026) Rightless Resistance: Post-colonial Citizenship, Palm Oil and Land Grabbing in Indonesia (Cornell University Press).

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