GAEA MORALES
Ph.D. | Assistant Professor
Research
My book project, Agents of Mass Construction: How Cities Localize the Sustainable Development Goals, explains why cities localize: the process by which cities translate norms embedded in international agreements into local policy. Using the case of climate action in Southeast Asian cities, the project explains the motivations and capacity of local vis á vis national governments for climate decision-making. In doing so, it makes a case for taking seriously the critical role cities can play as both catalysts and inhibitors of innovation–within and beyond climate and environmental governance.
My research is grounded in the study of norms and global governance, but traverses the political economy of the environment, (sub)state capacity, and human rights and international law. I have regional expertise on Southeast Asia, particularly urban (and rural) dynamics in the Philippines, Indonesia, and Thailand.