Joshua Basseches

Joshua A. Basseches is a postdoctoral fellow at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy. Basseches’ research focuses on energy and climate policy and politics in the U.S. states, where most of the action in these policy areas has taken place thus far. He examines the roles of business interests, environmental and consumer advocacy organizations, and state-level policymakers in shaping the content of the policies that have emerged. He is especially interested in the role of investor-owned utilities, and how the unique aspects of their business model and regulatory considerations affect their policy preferences when it comes to state-level renewable energy policy. He co-chairs the State Politics Working Group of the Climate Social Science Network.

Basseches has also been involved in collaborative research projects on environmental justice issues, public opinion about and media framing of climate and energy policy, state-level incarceration policy, and business-government relations.

At the Ford School, he is working with Barry Rabe and colleagues on issues related to North American climate policy, examining the opportunities, challenges, and constraints that Canada, the United States, and Mexico each face when it comes to progress and coordination on climate change. Specifically, he is investigating the Canada-U.S. electricity relationship.

Educational Background

PhD in sociology, Northwestern University

Professional Affiliations

• State Politics Working Group Co-Chair, Climate Social Science Network
• Member, Scholars Strategy Network
• Member, American Sociological Association
• Member, American Political Science Association
• Member, Social Science History Association

Current Research

Cross-national energy governance in North America. Climate and energy politics and policy design in the U.S.

Recent Publications

• Basseches and Ikenze. "The U.S.-Canada (Clean) Electricity Relationship: Challenges and Opportunities in Policy Design and Coordination." North American Climate Policy (North American Colloquium), 2022.
• Basseches et al. "Climate Policy Conflict in the U.S. States: A Critical Review and Way Forward." Climatic Change, 2022.
• "California Cap-and-Trade: History, Design, Effectiveness," Contesting Carbon, Forthcoming. 
• "Coalitions that Clash: California's Climate Leadership and the Perpetuation of Environmental Inequality," Research in Political Sociology, Forthcoming, 2021.
• "The key to passing climate policy? Rein in (or win over) utilities monopolies," Grist, March 2021.
• "Private Power in the U.S. States: Business Interests and the Design of State-Level Climate and Renewable Energy Policies," PhD dissertation at Northwestern University, 2020.
• "'It Happened Behind Closed Doors:' Legislative Buffering as an Informal Mechanism of Political Mediation," Mobilization: An International Quarterly, 2019.