Dr. Jan Wilkens is a Research Fellow at the German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA) in Hamburg and part of the Cluster of Excellence Climate, Climatic Change, and Society at the University of Hamburg.

His research lies at the intersection of global climate governance, critical norms research, and decolonial approaches to climate justice. His scholarship focuses on critical perspectives on transformation, contestation, and the politics of knowledge in global environmental governance in West Asia and North Africa (WANA).

Wilkens’ work explores how normative orders are produced, challenged, and transformed in contexts of climate crisis and geopolitical inequality. A central strand of his research examines climate justice through decolonial and postcolonial lenses, interrogating whose knowledge counts in climate governance and how struggles over justice shape political futures. His contributions have addressed themes such as social tipping points, just transition, the politics of climate change adaptation, and the role of narratives in envisioning just climate futures. His work combines normative theory with empirically grounded analysis, often bridging debates in international relations, Middle East studies, and climate governance.

Before joining GIGA as Research Fellow in 2026, Wilkens held several positions at the University of Hamburg, including Senior Researcher and Postdoctoral Researcher within CLICCS, where he contributed to interdisciplinary research on the plausibility of climate futures. He has also served as a lecturer and research associate in political science, particularly in the field of International Relations. His academic training spans political science and Middle East studies, including studies at SOAS, University of London and Damascus University.

A distinctive feature of Wilkens’ scholarship is its engagement with both critical theories and pressing policy debates. His research frequently engages questions of decarbonisation, climate change adaptation, social movements, and geopolitical contestation, while remaining attentive to questions of epistemic plurality and justice. He has published on these themes in leading journals and edited volumes, including work on decolonial climate justice, critical norms research, and transformative politics. He has also edited collaborative projects such as the Hamburg Climate Futures Outlook, which assesses the plausibility of reaching the plausibility of a 1.5°C limit to global warming (2023) and the social and political conditions for sustainable climate adaptation (2024).

Beyond academia, Wilkens contributes to wider public and policy debates through commentary and interdisciplinary collaboration. His work often speaks to broader questions concerning the relationship between social transformation and global governance, including debates related to the Middle East, international order, and climate politics. He is actively engaged in scholarly networks such as the thematic group on international norms research within the German Political Science Association and broader international research communities in international studies.