Kai Schulze has been supporting the emergenCITY program area City and Society as a new research associate since April 2025. The adjunct professor at the Institute of Political Science at TU Darmstadt studied political and administrative science at the University of Konstanz. Now, he conducts research in the field of policy analysis and comparative politics, with a focus on energy, climate and environmental policy analysis.

At the Institute of Political Science, Kai Schulze heads the junior research group Integrated Systems Analysis in the cluster project Clean Circles, where he investigates the complex interrelationships between state, economy, society and technology in political processes. Taking a holistic view and considering various different factors, his focus lies on political decisions and their results - from a local to a global level.

“I have recently been working intensively on the dissemination of local climate adaptation policies and thus also on the resilience of cities to climate change and how it can be strengthened. There are many links to emergenCITY, for example in questions of crisis management, coordination and the necessary administrative capacities.” - Kai Schulze

Schulze’s research at emergenCITY focuses specifically on innovations in local climate policy that improve crisis management through coordination and participation. Climate advisory councils are a concrete example here from the field of climate adaptation.

Kai Schulze at the Institute of Political Science Junior Research Group Integrated Systems Analysis in the cluster project Clean Circles