Christopher Ansell
Professor Ansell received his B.A. in Environmental Science from the University of Virginia in 1979 and worked at the U.S. Office of Technology Assessment from 1979 through 1984. He received his Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Chicago in 1993.
His fields of interest include public policy, public administration, governance, and organization theory, with a special geographical interest in Europe. His current research investigates collaborative modes of governance with a focus on collective problem-solving, democracy and sustainability. He also studies the politics and management of risk and has an ongoing interest in public health, environmental policy and crisis management. His work is inspired by the philosophy of Pragmatism.
Ansell has been a visiting professor at Universidade do Estado de Santa Catarina, Uppsala University, the École des hautes études en sciences sociales, and the University of Hong Kong and has received an honorary doctorate in public administration from Roskilde University in Denmark. He has been a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration since 2018 and is currently the Director of the Center for Catastrophic Risk Management.
Recent articles. Click here for a complete list.
“Generative spaces: Collaboration, learning and innovation in a regulatory sandbox” (with Carl Macrae), Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory (Forthcoming 2026).
“The generativity of governance configurations: How governance factors coalesce to spur local green co‐creation” (with E Sørensen and Jacob Torfing) Governance, 39(2) (2026).
“Between win–win and the manufacturing of consent: collaborative governance as a lightning rod in cannabis policy” (with Kevin Orr and Philipp Trein) Policy & Politics, 54(1) 26-46 (2026).
“Theorizing the political dimension of collaborative governance” (with Eva Sørensen and Jacob Torfing) Perspectives on Public Management and Governance, 8(3): 158-171. (2025).
“The policy transaction perspective: A pragmatist‐constructivist approach to the policy process” (with Patrick Hassenteufel and Phiippe Zittoun), European Policy Analysis. 11 (4), 441-459 (2025).
“Meso‐level dynamics of crisis in the European Union” (with Jarle Trondal, Marianne Riddervold, and Akasemi Newsome), Risk, Hazards & Crisis in Public Policy, 16(4), e70048. (2025). [special issue introduction]
“Metagoverning the co-creation of green transitions: A socio-political contingency framework” (with Eva Sørensen and Jacob Torfing) Sustainability, 16(16), 21pp. (2024).
“How did we get here? The evolution of a polycentric system of groundwater governance” (with Ruth Langridge) Ecology and Society, 29(1). (2024).
“To the summit and beyond: Tracing the process and impact of collaborative performance summits” (with Scott Douglas) Public Administration Review, 83(5), 1108-1122 (2023).
“The construction of the EU as a strategic entrepreneur: the internal-external-internal nexus” (with Sevie Chatzopoulou) Journal of European Integration, 45(2), 275-292 (2023).
“Public administration and politics meet turbulence: The search for robust governance responses” (with Eva Sørensen and Jacob Torfing) Public Administration, 101(1), 3-22. (2023) [Special issue Introduction]
“The democratic quality of co-creation: A theoretical exploration” (with Eva Sørensen and Jacob Torfing) Public Policy and Administration,39(2): 149-170. (2023).