Arun Agrawal is the Pulte Family Professor of Development Policy at the Keough School of Global Affairs and the founding director of the Just Transformations to Sustainability Initiative at the University of Notre Dame. A leading scholar in environmental politics and development policy, his research focuses on the intersection of institutional change, sustainability, and the governance of natural resources. Drawing on fieldwork in over 20 countries, Agrawal examines how democratic processes and decentralized governance shape equitable and sustainable outcomes, particularly for marginalized communities.
Agrawal’s work highlights the role of participatory institutions in enabling more inclusive and resilient environmental governance. His research has contributed to global understanding of how democratic reforms – from community-based conservation to local decision-making – can promote both sustainability and social justice. He currently leads major interdisciplinary projects, including a Department of Defense Minerva Initiative grant on climate, demography, and political stability, further emphasizing the links between democratic governance and global change.
A member of the National Academy of Sciences, Agrawal has published widely in journals such as Science, PNAS, and World Development, where he also served as editor-in-chief. Prior to joining Notre Dame, he held faculty positions at the University of Michigan, Yale, and McGill. Through his teaching, research, and international collaborations, Agrawal continues to advance scholarship and policy on the critical challenges at the nexus of democracy, development, and the environment.
Agrawal holds a doctorate in political science from Duke University and an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad.