Gustav Cederlöf
About Gustav Cederlöf
Associate Professor of Environmental Social Science
I am a human geographer studying the political and cultural dimensions of environmental change. I work across the fields of energy studies and political ecology.
I joined the School of Global Studies in 2021. Prior to this I was Lecturer in Liberal Arts & Geography at King's College London and also taught in the Department of Geography & Environment at the London School of Economics. I completed my PhD in Geography at King's and was later a Teaching Fellow in International Development. In 2018–19 I held an ESRC Postdoctoral Fellowship in a collaboration between King’s College London, Imperial College London and Queen Mary University of London. At Gothenburg, I lead the Higher Seminar in Environmental Social Science.
Qualifications
- 2010 BA in Development Studies, Uppsala University
- 2013 MSc in Human Ecology, Lund University
- 2017 PhD in Geography, King’s College London
Research themes
My research focuses on how we describe and conceptualise the interactions between humans and nature.
A central theme is energy use as a physical, political, and cultural phenomenon. I am interested in how energy-system changes interact with different forms of social power and inequality, especially in urban areas.
I also have expertise in the politics and history of Cuba. I have done ethnographic and archival research in Cuba for over a decade and am interested in lived experiences of socialism and other non-capitalist political economies.
I am the author of The Low-Carbon Contradiction: Energy Transition, Geopolitics, and the Infrastructural State in Cuba (University of California Press, 2023), which examines claims of low-carbon development, degrowth, and eco-socialism in Cuba. The book is reviewed in Hispanic American Historical Review, International Affairs, Latin American Review of Books, NACLA, New West Indian Guide, and Technology and Culture.
I am also the author of Discovering Political Ecology (with A. Loftus, Routledge, 2024), which introduces key concepts and the most topical debates in political ecology. The book draws on research in Africa, Asia, and Latin America to offer an alternative narrative of the origins and development of this interdisciplinary field.
Public engagement
- “The Low-Carbon Contradiction” (New Books Network)
- “Is Cuba the world’s most sustainable country?” (UC Press Blog)
- “Critical Infrastructure / Realities Left Vacant” (Neuer Berliner Kunstverein, n.b.k.)
Teaching
I am Programme Director of the BA in Global Studies. I also teach and supervise across the School’s offering in human ecology and development studies. I currently convene the following courses:
Undergraduate
Postgraduate