Throughout the Spring 2026 semester, the Hoffmann Centre for Global Sustainability welcomed leading scholars from around the world for the Hoffmann Advanced Research Seminar Series. This review highlights the research, conversations, and key themes that emerged across the programme.
Jacob Moscona | Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Climate Change, Deforestation, and the Expansion of the Global Agricultural Frontier
5 March 2026
Dr. Moscona examined how episodes of extreme heat contribute to deforestation and cropland expansion in tropical regions. His presentation highlighted how declining crop productivity can incentivize farmers to clear additional land rather than relocate production, raising urgent questions about the climate–deforestation feedback loop in vulnerable regions. The seminar generated a particularly lively discussion on the political economy of climate adaptation and the long-term implications for global agricultural systems.
Allan Hsiao | Stanford University
Critical Minerals, Geopolitics, and the Green Transition
26 March 2026
Dr. Hsiao presented research on how the concentration of critical minerals like lithium, cobalt, and nickel shapes the pace of the green transition. Because these minerals are used together in battery production, he showed that restricting the supply of one can push down the prices of the others, redistributing gains and losses across producing countries in ways that cut against conventional resource-market intuitions. The session drew a thoughtful back-and-forth on market power, supply-chain vulnerability, and the geopolitics of mineral-dependent decarbonization.
Christoph Trebesch | CEPR
Digital Chokepoints
30March 2026
Christoph Trebesch joined us this spring for a timely discussion on “Digital Chokepoints,” presenting ongoing research on the geopolitical and economic implications of global digital infrastructure and connectivity. The seminar explored the strategic importance of submarine cable networks, data connectivity, and systemic resilience in an increasingly interconnected world, prompting a rich interdisciplinary discussion on digital dependence, infrastructure vulnerability, and the evolving relationship between technology, security, and global governance.
Adrien Fabre | CNRS
Public Acceptance of International Redistribution in High-Income Countries
23 April 2026
Dr. Fabre presented his findings from a large-scale survey of 12,000 respondents across eleven high-income countries, where he examined public attitudes toward international redistribution. Although global inequality did not emerge as a salient concern for most respondents, he found that majorities in every country nevertheless accepted nearly all of the global policies presented to them, including measures that would redistribute a substantial share of global income or impose personal costs on respondents themselves. These findings prompted a useful discussion on the political feasibility of international redistribution, which policies voters are most willing to support, and what drives the variation across countries.
Dominik Hangartner | ETH Zürich
Birthright Citizenship Closes Second-Generation Immigrants’ Political and Social Integration Gap to Native Citizens
30 April 2026
Dr. Hangartner's talk focused on the relationship between birthright citizenship and the integration of migrants and their descendants, as well as their attitudes toward democracy later in life. Using Germany's 1999 citizenship reform as a natural experiment, the paper finds that birthright citizenship substantially narrows the integration gap with native citizens, with the largest gains in social and political integration and among those from Muslim backgrounds, alongside a reduction in antidemocratic attitudes. The presentation sparked an engaged conversation about the mechanisms linking early citizenship to integration and the implications for citizenship policy debates in Europe and beyond.
Mara Squicciarini | Bocconi University
De-Polarizing Politics: Faith Meets Science in the French Third Republic
7 May 2026
Dr. Squicciarini presented her research on whether individual politicians can temper emotionality and polarization in legislative debate. Studying members of the French Third Republic's parliament who had been educated in Jesuit schools, and drawing on over a million digitized parliamentary speeches, she showed that these politicians spoke in systematically less emotional and less polarized terms, leaning on reasoned and scientific argument, and that their interventions moderated the tone of the speakers who followed, even during the bitterly contested 1905 separation of Church and State. The seminar was followed by an exchange with the audience on how the training and composition of political elites can shape the quality of democratic deliberation.
Looking Ahead
Across the semester, the Hoffmann Advanced Research Seminar Series fostered interdisciplinary dialogue on topics ranging from climate change and global markets to migration, political integration, and public trust. We thank all speakers and participants for contributing to a vibrant semester of exchange and look forward to welcoming the community back for the Fall 2026 seminar series and the Hoffmann Centre Flagship Conference.