PhD defence Junyu Zhang
We are pleased to announce that Junyu Zhang will defend her PhD thesis on 13 November 2025 in the Auditorium of Campus Fryslân, Wirdumerdijk 34, 8911 CE Leeuwarden.
It is possible to follow the defence online via the livestream.
Programme:
-
09:00 - Walk-in
-
09:30 - Layperson’s talk
-
10:00 - PhD defence
-
11:15 - On-site reception with drinks
About the thesis
Junyu's thesis looks at why policies often fail to make farming in the EU and China more sustainable. It studies policy failure in two ways: as a judgement of whether policies are effective, and as a tool to understand how real-world policymaking and governance shape change. The research shows that the way people talk about policies, the way governments are organized, and political resistance have all helped keep the current farming system in place, instead of supporting big changes. Important ideas and actions for a sustainable transition are often ignored in policy discussions, or they don’t get implemented in practice. This shows a key problem: the values and structures behind policymaking still focus on growth, rather than truly supporting strong sustainability in agriculture.
To read Junyu's whole thesis, click here.
About Junyu Zhang
Junyu Zhang is a researcher in sustainable agriculture and governance. Her doctoral work examines agricultural sustainability transitions, comparing policies and governance practices in the European Union and China. Her research interests span sustainability transitions, agricultural and environmental policies, and the politics of transition governance. She is particularly interested in how policies and state-society interaction influence pathways toward more sustainable food systems. Junyu collaborates with scholars from history, linguistics, and geography to bring interdisciplinary perspectives to sustainability studies. Before starting her PhD, Junyu worked in policy consulting, where she advised governments and industry associations on China’s policies and regulations on agricultural investment and trade.