Professional Affiliation

Associate Professor of Global Governance, University of Massachusetts Boston

Expert Bio

www.mivanova.com

Dr. Maria Ivanova is Assistant Professor of Government and Environmental Policy at The College of William and Mary and the Director of the Global Environmental Governance (GEG) Project at the Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy. Her research focuses on global environmental governance, the effectiveness of the United Nations, and the role of the United States in international environmental affairs. Her recent work analyzes the history and performance of the international environmental architecture with a focus on the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the evolution of US international environmental policy. Maria's research and teaching also include campus sustainability with an eye toward creating appropriate governance frameworks for higher education institutions including faculty, staff, and students. A Bulgarian national, Maria holds Master's degrees in international relations and environmental management and a Ph.D. in international environmental policy from Yale University. She has worked at the Environment Directorate of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in Paris and at the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency in Stockholm on water quality standards and environmental regulatory reform in Russia. She is the co-editor of "Global Environmental Governance: Options & Opportunities" (with Daniel Esty) and author and co-author of articles and chapters on governance, globalization, and the environment. Recently, she assisted with the conceptualization, drafting and dissemination of a volume on "Global Environmental Governance: Perspectives on the Current Debate" published by the Center for UN Reform Education. Maria Ivanova teaches undergraduate, graduate, and professional courses in Global Environmental Governance, International Organizations, Climate Change, Environmental Diplomacy, and Campus Sustainability and was recognized as Professor of the Year in 2007 by student society Members XIII.

 

Education

Bachelor's of Arts, summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, Mount Holyoke College; Master's of Arts in International Relations, Yale University; Master's in Environmental Management, Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies; Ph.D., Yale University

 

Experience

Assistant Professor of Government and Environmental Policy, the College of William and Mary, 2005-present

Appointments in Department of Government (primary), Environmental Science and Policy Program, Thomas Jefferson Program in Public Policy, and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS)

Director, Global Environmental Governance Project, Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy, 1997-present

Project Manager, Environment Directorate, Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Paris, France, 1999-2000

Project Manager, International Secretariat, Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, Stockholm, Sweden, May-September 1997 and 1998

 

Expertise

International Relations; Global Environmental Governance; Climate Change Governance; International Environmental Law; United Nations; Organizational Effectiveness; Campus Sustainability

Wilson Center Project

Changing Course: Reclaiming US Environmental Leadership

Project Summary

The United States entered the 21st century actively pursuing a "go-it-alone" approach to international relations. This is especially the case in global environmental affairs, where the United States has been perceived as a laggard and even an obstacle to collective action. Yet, the United States was the prime proponent and creator of international environmental organizations in the 1970s. This interdisciplinary study will explore two related questions: What explains the shift in US behavior in international environmental affairs over the past 40 years and how does this shift causally relate to the performance of the international environmental institutions? The study will thus examine the reasons for U.S. withdrawal from international environmental affairs and the connections between the factors influencing US environmental policy and those shaping global environmental governance.

Major Publications

• The Untold Story of the World's Leading Environmental Institution UNEP at Fifty, MIT Press. 2021.
• Global Environmental Governance: Options & Opportunities (edited with Daniel C. Esty). New Haven, CT: Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies. 2002. Translated into Portuguese and published in Brazil - Governança Ambiental Global: Opções & Oportunidades (2005)
• "UNEP in Global Environmental Governance: Design, Leadership, Location," in Global Environmental Politics, Vol. 8, Issue 1, forthcoming.
• "Reclaiming U.S. Leadership in Global Environmental Governance," (with Daniel C. Esty) in The SAIS Review of International Affairs, Vol. XXVIII, Issue 2, Summer-Fall 2008, pp. 57-75.