Dr M.V. Isaias Mendes (Vinícius)

I am a political scientist, working in the domains of political economy of the environment, political ecology and global environmental politics. The common thread in my research projects is the attempt to understand how asymmetric power relations and environmental injustice operate, affecting local populations while contributing to ongoing planetary crises, in particular climate change and biodiversity loss through agroextractivism and non-sustainable development models. My teaching and research contribute to debates on sustainability transformations and social-environmental justice. Moreover, I am interested in action-research and transdisciplinary forms of knowledge-production, collaborating with academics, NGOs and local communities in Latin America and Europe. Empirically, I’ve been carrying out fieldwork at the local level (cities), sectorial studies connected to climate, biodiversity and pollution (ICTs, agricultural, energy and trade sectors), with geographical scope in Europe (Germany, Netherlands) and Latin America (Brazil).

Since 2023 I have been working on the Horizon Europe project PLANET4B (2023-2025), investigating how the production and trade of soy and beef between Brazil and the Netherlands affect biodiversity, Indigenous peoples and local populations. In the process, I've been investigating the role of European policies, such as the EU Regulation on Deforestation-free Products (EUDR), to reduce the EU global deforestation footprint. Previously, I have held visiting scholar positions at the Goethe University of Frankfurt (2020) and at UC Santa Cruz, USA (2022).