Professor Denise van der Kamp

I am an Associate Professor in the Political Economy of China at Oxford’s School of Global and Area Studies and a Fellow of Lady Margaret Hall. I research and teach Chinese politics, comparative political economy, and environmental politics.  

My research explores issues in developmental politics and environmental governance, with a focus on China. I examine politicians’ strategies for implementing environmental policies in contexts where both rule of law and civil society are weak. I am also developing new projects on regulatory uncertainty, and how actors accustomed to stable rules learn to negotiate unpredictable environments.

My work has been published in Comparative Politics, Governance, and World Development. My book, Clean Air at What Cost? is forthcoming with Cambridge University Press.  My research has been supported by the National Science Foundation, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, and the Research Grants Council in Hong Kong. 

Before coming to Oxford, I was an Assistant Professor at City University of Hong Kong. I hold a PhD in Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley, an MA from McGill University, and a BA from the University of Cambridge. From 2017-2018, I was also a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for the Study of Contemporary China.  

Prior to beginning my PhD, I worked with the Aga Khan Foundation in Tajikistan and with environmental NGOs in China. I was born and raised in Hong Kong. 

For more details on my current research and publications, please visit my personal website www.denisevanderkamp.com