Zarina Kulaeva
R2 - Recognised Researcher
Theory, Technology, Territory and Politics
Political ecology of socio-environmental change
Political regimes classification
Democracy
Climate change narratives
Climate change governance
Anthropocene
Zarina Kulaeva is a postdoctoral researcher at the Faculty of Law and Political Science and a member of the TURBA research group (UOC-TRANSIC). Her current research endeavors involve a comprehensive analysis of climate change ministerial cabinets within the broader context of climate change. Her doctoral thesis examined the ways in which governance structures are challenged, influenced, and undermined by the urgent demands posed by climate change.
In September 2025, she achieved an Excellent Cum Laude distinction during her thesis defense and received the Extraordinary Award for Best Academic Record in the Doctorate in Law, Politics, and Economics for the academic year 2024-2025. Zarina’s academic background encompasses social and cultural anthropology, human rights, forensic anthropology, and qualitative research methodologies.
Kulaeva Z. (2026). Climate Change – “The Measure of All Things”: The Missing Map of Climate Narratives. Australian Journal of Environmental Education, 1-25. https://doi.org/10.1017/aee.2025.10095
Kulaeva, Z. (2025). Three Challenges in Political Regime Classification: The Regime Configuration Framework. Politics & Policy, 53(6), e70086. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.70086
Kulaeva, Z. (2025). Democracia y cambio climático: Repensar la gobernanza desde un marco político más integral. Revista CIDOB d’Afers Internacionals, 140, 173–192. https://doi.org/10.24241/rcai.2025.140.2.173
Kulaeva, Z. (2025). Normative implications examining the case for a democratic versus an authoritarian environmental approach to addressing climate change: A systematic review of the published evidence, 2000–2022. Sustainable Environment, 11(1), 2505328. https://doi.org/10.1080/27658511.2025.2505328
Kulaeva, Z. (2024). Narratives of change: How climate change narratives have evolved since the 1970s. International Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management, 17(1), 376–394. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCCSM-06-2024-0089
Kulaeva, Z. (2023). La regulación jurídica internacional de las empresas militares privadas y de las empresas de seguridad privadas en los conflictos armados. Revista Hispanoamericana de Derechos Humanos (REHISDEHU), 3, 6–36. http://iidhespana.org/pdf/revista-iidh-espana-n-3658bfe2f2a7fd.pdf
PRESS ARTICLES
Kulaeva, Z., & Serrano Balaguer, I. (2025). ¿Es el cambio climático un campo de batalla entre el capitalismo verde y el decrecimiento? The Conversation, DOI: https://doi.org/10.64628/AAO.yvpwgfps6
Kulaeva, Z., & Sáenz L.R. (2025). Ted Chiang: «No és por a la IA ‘per se’, sinó al que el capitalisme és capaç de fer amb aquestes noves tecnologies (I).COMeIN, no. 152. ISSN: 1696-3296. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7238/c.n152.2524
Kulaeva, Z., & Serrano Balaguer, I. (2025). La democracia ante el colapso ecológico. The Conversation. DOI:https://doi.org/10.64628/AAO.9cnfsunun
Kulaeva, Z. (2024). Las sombras del autoritarismo medioambiental en nombre del cambio climático. COMeIN [en línea], no. 149. ISSN: 1696-3296. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7238/c.n149.2483
I am a founding member of the International Human Rights Institute – Spain Chapter and an active member of the Red de Profesionales de Sostenibilidad de Barcelona, contributing to collaborative initiatives that connect academic research with practitioners and civil society. I regularly engage in public communication through podcasts––Primavera Sound, Punzadas Sonoras, and I have authored several outreach articles for The Conversation—reaching almost 4,000 readers—and COMeIN,
translating academic insights into accessible analyses for nonspecialist audiences.
I have participated in multiple science–society programs, including #100tífiques (at Montserrat School in Barcelona and Dolors Almeda School in Cornellà de Llobregat), Pint of Science in Barcelona; Mural Fest––AlterCOP alongside Tomàs Molina and Maria Serra, contributing to public understanding of climate governance and democratic accountability. My capacity for effective science communication has been recognized with the Second Prize in the Science Monologue Contest of the Fundació Catalana per a la Recerca i Innovació (2023). In addition to external outreach, I contribute to academic transfer through sustained peer mentoring. I have supported first- and second-year PhD candidates at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya in refining their research questions, strengthening their methodological designs, and planning their publication trajectories.
Lecturer of Comparative Politics: Types and Origins of Political Regimes, 2023–2025
Taught in Catalan and Spanish
Courses delivered in:
– BA in Social Sciences (Elective)
– BA in International Relations (Core Course)
– BA in Political Science and Public Administration (Elective)
2025: Awarded with Excellent Cum Laude for the thesis “Democracy in the Shadow of Climate Change Governance: Where Systems Fail and Temperatures Rise,” Open University of Catalonia.
2025: Received the Extraordinary Award for the Best Academic Record in the Doctorate in Law, Politics, and Economics (2024–2025), Open University of Catalonia.
2023: 2nd position in the scientific monologue contest by Fundación Catalana para la Investigación y la Innovación (FCRI).
2022: FUOC’s grant for completing the doctoral thesis linked to the pre-doctoral contract at the Open University of Catalonia.