Christian Downie
Dr Christian Downie
Qualifications
B Econ (Hons I), Uni. of Sydney; PhD, ANU
Dr Christian Downie is a Fellow and the Higher Degree Research Convenor in the School of Regulation and Global Governance at The Australian National University. He was previously a Vice Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of New South Wales.
Christian has worked as a foreign policy advisor to the Australian Government’s Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet and a climate policy advisor to the Department of Climate Change. Christian holds a PhD in international relations and political science from the Australian National University, having graduated from the University of Sydney with first class honours in economics. He has spent time teaching or researching at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the London School of Economics and Political Science and the University of Chulalongkorn, among others, and he has worked in policy think tanks in Canberra and Washington D.C.
His first book, The Politics of Climate Change Negotiations, was published in 2014. Christian is also the author of more than 20 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters and more than 40 policy, conference and opinion pieces.
For more information and list of publications visit his personal website.
Research interests
- International Relations
- Environmental Politics
Available student projects
I am always eager to hear from Masters and PhD students who have an interest in working on projects in the following areas:
• Global energy policy
• Global climate change policy
• US energy policy
• The G20
• Business actors and clean energy transitions
Please do feel free to get in contact if you would like to pursue further study in any of these areas and to see whether I would be a suitable supervisor.
However, before you do, please check your eligibility to pursue a Master of Philosophy or PhD at the ANU.
What makes the G20 a force for global good – when its members agree they want it to be
This article was first published in The Conversation on 30 November 2018.
Compared to other international organisations, the G20 would seem to be one of the weakest.
Lack of climate policy threatens to trip up Australian diplomacy this summit season
This article was originally published in The Conversation on
Dr Christian Downie receives DECRA & AIIA Research Impact Award
Dr Christian Downie has received a Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (
Congratulations to RegNet grant winners
RegNet was delighted to secure a number of grants in the recent round of awards from the Australian Research Council (ARC).
The globalisation of regulation
In this ten minute speech, Christian Downie explores how ideas about regulating people and activities spread across the globe, and not always to positive effect.
Strategies for Middle Powers
Familiar great and rising powers have the most influence in shaping the international order.
US withdraws from Paris Agreement: Time for China and Europe to lead
President Trump announced overnight (2 June) that the United States - the World’s second largest emitter of greenhouse gases - will be withdrawing from the Paris climate agreement.
Message from Director of Education
As Director of Education, I am excited that you are considering pursuing a higher degree by research (HDR) at RegNet.
Why China and Europe should form the world’s most powerful ‘climate bloc’
It seems almost certain that US President-elect Donald Trump will walk away from the Paris climate agreement next year. In the absence of US leadership, the question is: who will step up?
The geopolitical rationale for climate action
In a new paper published in Global Policy, Peter Drahos and I argue that not only is there a strong economic and moral case for such action, but there are good geopolitical reasons too.
Election 2016: do we need to re-establish a department of climate change?
With a federal election looming, Australia’s top mandarins will once again be turning their minds to the incoming government briefs, the so-called blue book if the Coalition is returned and the red book if Labor is elected.
Australia can learn a lesson from the US's approach to coal
RegNet visitor Christian Downie has written an op-ed appearing in the Sydney Morning Herald on February 23, 2016.
Why we should go it alone on climate change
In this opinion piece published in The Drum on November 6, Peter Drahos and Christian Downie argue there is a good case for Australia to act on climate change early and unilaterally.
MIKTA: Benign middle-power diplomacy, or a risk for Australia?
In September, in the margins of the UN General Assembly, Australia will assume the role of chair for a little known grouping of countries known as MIKTA – Mexico, Indonesia, Korea, Turkey and Australia.
RegNet scholars in Seattle
A group of RegNet scholars descended on Seattle for the 2015 Law and Society Association conference in late May.
Christian Downie on UN climate resolution in Lima
The United Nations climate change talks will not save the planet by themselves, but they put important pressure on every nation to do its part writes RegNet Visiting Fellow, Dr Christian Downie.
A better way to tell the story of climate change
Christian Downie argues that the Federal Labor Government is in an unenviable position when it comes to the politics of climate change.
Current
Business battles in the US energy sector: Lessons for a cleaner world
This project examines the role of business actors in the oil and gas industries, coal industry, utility industry and renewable industries across six contemporary policy contests that have taken place
Energy governance, energy security and climate change: Towards a low carbon economy
The current patchwork of policy frameworks for energy fall far short of what is needed to transition to a low carbon economy.
Completed
Domestic politics and the international climate negotiations: A dynamic relationship
International multilateral negotiations are becoming longer and more complex.While the concept of a 'two level game' can be used to understand when and how domestic politics and internationa
