dr. (Farhad) F Mukhtarov

Dr. Farhad Mukhtarov is Assistant Professor of Governance and Public Policy at International Institute of Social Sciences (ISS), Erasmus University Rotterdam. Dr. Mukhtarov is specialised in interpretive policy analysis and environmental policy. He is fascinated by the politics of knowledge, problem framing, knowledge pluralism, and the role of context in shaping (environmental) policy.

Farhad is also an Adjunct Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Water Policy, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore. Dr. Mukhtarov held faculty and (visiting) appointments at the University of Oxford, Utrecht University, Delft University of Technology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, and ADA University. His Ph.D. is from Central European University (magna cum laude, 2009) and MSc. from Manchester University and Central European University. He regularly blogs at www.policytranslation.eu. Farhad's latest research is available at Researchgate and Google Scholar.

Research Interests

I study the intersection of public policy and the environment in the context of international development. Broadly speaking, I am interested in understanding the role of knowledge in politics, especially in a transnational context where global policy ideas penetrate national and local policy practices. My research and teaching have a strong interpretive predisposition and are informed by the values of equity, social justice, and pluralism.

Over the years, I developed several major lines in my research and supervised various research projects (including over 30 Master theses and a number of on-going Ph.D. projects). I am open to opportunities to supervise Ph.D. researchers whose topics falls within one or more of the following broad themes.

1. Policy Mobility, Translation and Discourses

What originally started as an interest in how environmental and water policy models travel across various borders (often from the Global North to the Global South), has now developed into the interest in interrogating policy-making as "always on the move", "eternally unfolding" and hence fundamentally fluid as opposed to stable. The focus hence is on policy practices. I am interested in researching policy designs and implementation through this lens of mobility and fluidity.

2. Knowledge Pluralism and Policy (Institutional) Design

I am interested in how policy-makers and public managers can make use of multiple ways of knowing in public policy and governance. Scientific knowledge is one type of knowledge, there is indigenous knowledge, knowledge based on rituals, practices, and values. They all are valuable and need to be included in the policy-making process. The big question is how.

3. Behavioural Approaches to Public Policy

I am interested in the role of emotions and nudging in changing environmental (as well as policy) attitudes and promoting sustainable public policies. I approach emotions and behavioral science from a public policy perspective and ask questions about the transition to sustainability through the so-called "libertarian paternalism".

Taken broader, this theme includes my interest in understanding the role of emotions, cognition and behavioural aspects in public policy, be it in an environmental domain or any other policy domain.

4. Global Water Governance and Neo-liberalism

This is the most recent research interest of mine that sprung out of the empirical obervation of various ethical and political dilemmas linked to the Dutch foreign policy in the field of water governance aimed at the twin goals of a) development in recipient countries (in the contes of Sustainable Development Goals); and b) profit generation for the Dutch. The rise of neo-liberalism in international aid, aid and trade and, arguably, global water governance, raises serious issues around effectiveness, equity, fairness and power relations that need to be researched and critically discussed. Within this line of inquiry, I am interested in understanding the role of branding, networking and soft-power leveraging in the global field of water governance.

If you are interested to pursue Master or Ph.D. research along one of these research lines, please do not hesitate to get in touch.