Katharina Weber
GEM-DIAMOND doctoral fellow
ESR 9 – Contesting national sovereignty? Transnational civil society activism and EU external action against deforestation
Driven by a deep concern for our planet and global injustices paired with the constant desire to understand issues to the core, I have a particular inclination to conduct research which links academia and practice.
Host Institutions
Contesting national sovereignty? Transnational civil society activismand EU external action against deforestation
Supervisors
- Jonathan Zeitlin
- Thomas Christiansen
Research abstract
How does external legitimacy affect the EU’s regulatory power to pursue environmental goals beyond its borders? The thesis addresses this question by focusing on mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence (mHREDD) laws – widely known as supply chain laws – as instruments of EU external action. It focuses on three interrelated issues: (1) how the exercise of EU regulatory power through supply-chain laws is perceived in terms of legitimacy by actors in third countries; (2) the extent to which the EU can pursue specific environmental goals through these instruments; (3) how processes of (de-)legitimation may impact regulatory power.
Empirically, the thesis analyses the EU Regulation for Deforestation-free products (EUDR) as a recent supply chain regulation that aims to reduce deforestation associated with EU imports of agricultural commodities. It adopts a comparative design contrasting Ghana and Indonesia as two cases which capture important forest-risk commodities (focusing on cocoa, palm oil and timber) yet differ substantially in their degree of dependence on the EU market. The qualitative analysis draws on semi-structured expert interviews, conducted during three research stays in Brussels, Ghana and Indonesia as well as relevant documents and observations from meetings and seminars.
The thesis argues that for mHREDD instruments tied to market access, perceptions of legitimacy in third countries do not decisively determine whether adaptations take place or not. National strategy and interests as well as market considerations are more influential drivers. However, legitimacy perceptions shape the political environment of adaptation.
Contrary to dominant theoretical expectations, the study finds no strong divergence in adaptation outcomes between Ghana and Indonesia despite their different levels of market dependence on the EU. Both cases exhibit broadly similar patterns of adjustments to the EUDR. This is explained by the EU being a premium market, meaning that though in relative terms the market may shrink, the high value associated with EU market access makes governments and private actors highly reluctant to forgo it. The thesis thus qualifies recently emerging arguments on the EU’s declining market power, questioning their applicability to the theory of change embedded in supply-chain regulations.
Finally, the thesis shows that supply chain laws alone are insufficient to achieve environmental objectives beyond the EU’s borders. Instruments that leverage market access cannot address the structural and political root causes of transnational environmental problems. In doing so, the thesis contributes to broader debates on the nature of the EU as an international environmental actor and the limits of its regulatory power in global governance.
Empirically, the thesis analyses the EU Regulation for Deforestation-free products (EUDR) as a recent supply chain regulation that aims to reduce deforestation associated with EU imports of agricultural commodities. It adopts a comparative design contrasting Ghana and Indonesia as two cases which capture important forest-risk commodities (focusing on cocoa, palm oil and timber) yet differ substantially in their degree of dependence on the EU market. The qualitative analysis draws on semi-structured expert interviews, conducted during three research stays in Brussels, Ghana and Indonesia as well as relevant documents and observations from meetings and seminars.
The thesis argues that for mHREDD instruments tied to market access, perceptions of legitimacy in third countries do not decisively determine whether adaptations take place or not. National strategy and interests as well as market considerations are more influential drivers. However, legitimacy perceptions shape the political environment of adaptation.
Contrary to dominant theoretical expectations, the study finds no strong divergence in adaptation outcomes between Ghana and Indonesia despite their different levels of market dependence on the EU. Both cases exhibit broadly similar patterns of adjustments to the EUDR. This is explained by the EU being a premium market, meaning that though in relative terms the market may shrink, the high value associated with EU market access makes governments and private actors highly reluctant to forgo it. The thesis thus qualifies recently emerging arguments on the EU’s declining market power, questioning their applicability to the theory of change embedded in supply-chain regulations.
Finally, the thesis shows that supply chain laws alone are insufficient to achieve environmental objectives beyond the EU’s borders. Instruments that leverage market access cannot address the structural and political root causes of transnational environmental problems. In doing so, the thesis contributes to broader debates on the nature of the EU as an international environmental actor and the limits of its regulatory power in global governance.
Katharina Weber is a Ph.D. Candidate at the University of Amsterdam (UvA) and LUISS University in Rome. She is a fellow of the Marie Skłodowska Curie Action - Doctoral Network (MSCA-DN) GEM-DIAMOND, a research project exploring the EU’s capacity to act, given the mounting normative dissensus in democratic institutions.
Her doctoral research focuses on the EU’s external environmental governance, with a particular emphasis on regulatory power, legitimacy, and North–South relations. She is affiliated with the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS) in Brussels and the Center for Agrarian Studies at IPB University in Bogor, Indonesia. As part of her research, she has conducted fieldwork in Ghana, Indonesia, and Brussels, engaging with stakeholders across the public sector, civil society, and industry.
Alongside her doctoral research, she has shared insights with a government agency and conducted commissioned research for a German foundation, connecting academic work with policy practice. Prior to her PhD, she worked at the German Investment and Development Corporation (KfW Group) and was a visiting associate at the Boston Consulting Group.
Katharina holds a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) from Bucerius Law School in Hamburg, Germany. She completed her Master’s in Public Policy (MUNDUS MAPP) through a joint programme between Central European University (CEU) and Barcelona Institute of International Studies (IBEI), spending one year each in Vienna and Barcelona.
Her doctoral research focuses on the EU’s external environmental governance, with a particular emphasis on regulatory power, legitimacy, and North–South relations. She is affiliated with the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS) in Brussels and the Center for Agrarian Studies at IPB University in Bogor, Indonesia. As part of her research, she has conducted fieldwork in Ghana, Indonesia, and Brussels, engaging with stakeholders across the public sector, civil society, and industry.
Alongside her doctoral research, she has shared insights with a government agency and conducted commissioned research for a German foundation, connecting academic work with policy practice. Prior to her PhD, she worked at the German Investment and Development Corporation (KfW Group) and was a visiting associate at the Boston Consulting Group.
Katharina holds a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) from Bucerius Law School in Hamburg, Germany. She completed her Master’s in Public Policy (MUNDUS MAPP) through a joint programme between Central European University (CEU) and Barcelona Institute of International Studies (IBEI), spending one year each in Vienna and Barcelona.
PEER-REVIEWED ARTICLES:
Weber, K. (2025). “Environmental supply chain regulations in a changing market environment: Exploring the EU’s regulatory power in the cocoa sector in Ghana”, Journal of Common Market Studies, https://doi.org/10.1111/jcms.7003.
Schleifer, F. & Weber, K. "The Politics of Environmental Backsliding: The Case of the EU Deforestation Regulation". (In progress)
Weber, K. "Legitimacy for whom? Legitimation patterns of the EUDR in Ghana and Indonesia". (In progress)
BOOK CHAPTERS:
Weber, K. (2026). “Ghana's Democracy Has Been Reduced to an Electoral Democracy”. Interview with Vera Abena Addo. In: Coman, R., Ponjaert, F., Bradley, A. (eds) Dissensus over Liberal Democracy. Contributions to Political Science. Springer, Cham.
Fitriani, E. & Weber, K. "Relations between the European Union and Indonesia". In: Christiansen, T., Fitriani, E., Guahk, Y., Kirchner, E. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of EU-Asia Relations. Springer. (Forthcoming)
Schleifer, P. & Weber, K. "Deforestation". In: Vanderheiden, S., Santala, A. (eds) Elgar Encyclopedia of Environmental Politics. Edward Elgar Publishing. (Forthcoming)
Tangney, P. & Weber, K. “Evidence-based Policy Making”. In: Coman, R., Paternotte, D., Ponjaert, F. Impact and Social Sciences: A Conceptual Index. (Forthcoming)
Weber, K. “Navigating dissensus beyond borders: The case of deforestation-free supply chains”. In Dissensus over liberal democracy: actors, policies, and institutions, edited by Ramona Coman, Nicolas Levrat, and Frederik Ponjaert. (Forthcoming)
POLICY REPORTS:
Weber, K. (2024). “Why it’s businesses (and not the European Commission) that need to ensure sustainable supply chains”, Center for European Policy Studies (CEPS).
Weber, K. (2023). "Forests, Foreign Policy and Trade. What the EU Deforestation Regulation means from a foreign policy perspective." Center for European Policy Studies (CEPS). https://www.ceps.eu/ceps-publications/forests-foreign-policy-and-trade/.
Brandi, C., Holzer, K., Morin, J.-F., van Asselt, H., & Weber, K. (2023). "Trade and climate change: How to design better climate-related provisions in Preferential Trade Agreements" (Policy Brief 21/2023). Bonn: IDOS. https://doi.org/10.23661/ipb21.2023.
Zangl, M., Weber, K., Zahid, M. U., & Holzner, M. (2021). "Environmental Impact Evaluation of a European High-Speed Railway Network along the 'European Silk Road'". In F. Cerniglia, F. Saraceno, & A. Watt (Eds.), The Great Reset: 2021 European Public Investment Outlook (Vol. 10). Open Book Publishers. https://doi.org/10.11647/obp.0280.
CONFERENCES & TALKS (selected):
- European Union International Affairs (EUIA), “Navigating dissensus beyond borders: The case of deforestation-free supply chains”, (2025).
- Invited talk: FGV Centre of Excellence on EU-Latin America Global Challenges, Rio Brazil (2025).
- Invited talk: Austrian Development Agency, “The EUDR: Current State and implications for producer countries” (2024).
- ECPR Standing Group EU, “In the thicket - navigating EU deforestation governance and external contestation” (2024).
- European Union International Affairs (EUIA), “Contesting national sovereignty? EU external action against deforestation”, PhD Symposium (2023).
Weber, K. (2025). “Environmental supply chain regulations in a changing market environment: Exploring the EU’s regulatory power in the cocoa sector in Ghana”, Journal of Common Market Studies, https://doi.org/10.1111/jcms.7003.
Schleifer, F. & Weber, K. "The Politics of Environmental Backsliding: The Case of the EU Deforestation Regulation". (In progress)
Weber, K. "Legitimacy for whom? Legitimation patterns of the EUDR in Ghana and Indonesia". (In progress)
BOOK CHAPTERS:
Weber, K. (2026). “Ghana's Democracy Has Been Reduced to an Electoral Democracy”. Interview with Vera Abena Addo. In: Coman, R., Ponjaert, F., Bradley, A. (eds) Dissensus over Liberal Democracy. Contributions to Political Science. Springer, Cham.
Fitriani, E. & Weber, K. "Relations between the European Union and Indonesia". In: Christiansen, T., Fitriani, E., Guahk, Y., Kirchner, E. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of EU-Asia Relations. Springer. (Forthcoming)
Schleifer, P. & Weber, K. "Deforestation". In: Vanderheiden, S., Santala, A. (eds) Elgar Encyclopedia of Environmental Politics. Edward Elgar Publishing. (Forthcoming)
Tangney, P. & Weber, K. “Evidence-based Policy Making”. In: Coman, R., Paternotte, D., Ponjaert, F. Impact and Social Sciences: A Conceptual Index. (Forthcoming)
Weber, K. “Navigating dissensus beyond borders: The case of deforestation-free supply chains”. In Dissensus over liberal democracy: actors, policies, and institutions, edited by Ramona Coman, Nicolas Levrat, and Frederik Ponjaert. (Forthcoming)
POLICY REPORTS:
Weber, K. (2024). “Why it’s businesses (and not the European Commission) that need to ensure sustainable supply chains”, Center for European Policy Studies (CEPS).
Weber, K. (2023). "Forests, Foreign Policy and Trade. What the EU Deforestation Regulation means from a foreign policy perspective." Center for European Policy Studies (CEPS). https://www.ceps.eu/ceps-publications/forests-foreign-policy-and-trade/.
Brandi, C., Holzer, K., Morin, J.-F., van Asselt, H., & Weber, K. (2023). "Trade and climate change: How to design better climate-related provisions in Preferential Trade Agreements" (Policy Brief 21/2023). Bonn: IDOS. https://doi.org/10.23661/ipb21.2023.
Zangl, M., Weber, K., Zahid, M. U., & Holzner, M. (2021). "Environmental Impact Evaluation of a European High-Speed Railway Network along the 'European Silk Road'". In F. Cerniglia, F. Saraceno, & A. Watt (Eds.), The Great Reset: 2021 European Public Investment Outlook (Vol. 10). Open Book Publishers. https://doi.org/10.11647/obp.0280.
CONFERENCES & TALKS (selected):
- European Union International Affairs (EUIA), “Navigating dissensus beyond borders: The case of deforestation-free supply chains”, (2025).
- Invited talk: FGV Centre of Excellence on EU-Latin America Global Challenges, Rio Brazil (2025).
- Invited talk: Austrian Development Agency, “The EUDR: Current State and implications for producer countries” (2024).
- ECPR Standing Group EU, “In the thicket - navigating EU deforestation governance and external contestation” (2024).
- European Union International Affairs (EUIA), “Contesting national sovereignty? EU external action against deforestation”, PhD Symposium (2023).
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Stepping Outside Academia: My Time at CEPS
13 October 2024
A fellow shares her experiences during the non-academic secondment
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Do Good and Talk About It: GEM-DIAMOND's Green Plan
11 October 2024
An outline of the GEM-DIAMOND's sustainability commitments
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The Power of Methods
21 August 2023
Reflections on a 3-day methods workshop attended by the GEM fellows at the University of Amsterdam
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Forest protection(ism)? Perceptions of the European Deforestation Regulation
28 April 2023
The EUDR aims to halt EU-driven deforestation worldwide. Responses reflect the struggle between environmental interests and political power conflicts.
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Birth of the GEM-DIAMOND Fellowship of the Ph.D.
1 October 2022
16 MSCA Fellows successfully selected following a gruelling selection process.