We are delighted to announce that Benedikt Walker, who recently earned his doctorate and is a member of our Economic Geography research group, and Dr. Linus Kalvelage, who is a researcher at the Department of Geography at the University of Cologne and served as Interim Professor at the Department of Geography in Bonn during the winter semester 2024/25, have jointly won the Journal of Economic Geography Early Career Researcher Paper Prize 2024 for their co-authored article “Strategic coupling beyond borders: Germany’s extraterritorial agency in Namibia’s green hydrogen industry.” This prestigious award honors papers whose authors completed their doctorates within seven years of acceptance; each recipient receives £200 of OUP books and a one-year online subscription to JOEG, all selected by the journal’s editorial team.
In their paper, Walker and Kalvelage explore how, amid mounting geopolitical threats, geo-economic competition, and climate-change imperatives, states reshape strategic coupling processes abroad. Focusing on Germany’s engagement in Namibia’s emerging green hydrogen sector, they conceptualize decarbonization as a state-led project that drives “extraterritorial agency.” By accompanying private enterprises with public institutional support, states enact three mechanisms—extraterritorial de-risking, asset creation, and market creation—that align global production networks with national objectives. Their findings show that even in liberal and coordinated market economies, extraterritorial strategies play a crucial role in advancing strategic goals overseas.
We warmly congratulate Benedikt Walker and Dr. Linus Kalvelage on this outstanding achievement and look forward to the continued impact of their research.