Research output per year
Research output per year
Personal profile
Research
Karl's research focuses on the politics of plastics. This involves a wide range of social science approaches related to plastics as a material and phenomenon. He has written about the lock-in effects of plastics, norms and cultures related to plastics, governance and policy of plastics and the political economy of plastics.
Karl is currently a postdoctoral researcher at the Division of Environmental and Energy Systems Studies (IMES) at the Department of Technology and Society within the project "Incentive structures for tomorrow's plastic recycling", where he will investigate how the recycling and reuse rate of plastic packaging can be improved in the Swedish context.
Karl's thesis "Embedded Disposability: A Cultural Political Economy of Plastics" (defended in May 2025) dealt with how the disposability of plastics came to be embedded in Sweden during the 1940s, 50s and 60s. He conceptualised embeddedness through three interlocking dynamics; lock-in, practices and hegemony. The first chapter dealt with the rise of the self-service store as an arena for disposability, and the second on how plastic packaging came to be sold as disposable. The third chapter addressed the rise of the Stenungsund petrochemical cluster in the wake of growing use of disposable plastics during the 1960s.
In addition to his research, Karl teaches at various courses foremost at the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences (MGeo), but also the Department of Political Science (SVET), the Centre for Sustainability Studies (LUCSUS) and at the Department of Technology and Society.
Karl also has a strong interest in philosophy, political theory, sociology, history, comparative politics, international relations and environmental politics.
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
Subject classification (UKÄ)
- Political Science
- Science and Technology Studies
- Environmental Studies in Social Sciences
Free keywords
- Political Science
- Material Politics
- Environmental Politics
- International Political Economy
- Science and Technology Studies
- Sociology
- Politics of plastics
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Collaborations the last five years
Recent external collaboration on country/territory level. Dive into details by clicking on the dots or
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Embedded disposability: A cultural political economy of plastics
Holmberg, K., 2025 Mar, Lund: Lund University. 250 p.Research output: Thesis › Doctoral Thesis (monograph)
Open AccessFile904 Downloads (Pure) -
Towards a Global Plastics Treaty: Navigating Policy Preferences and Economic Interests
Dreyer, E., Hansen, T., Holmberg, K., Kielhöfer, L., Olsen, T. & Stripple, J., 2025, In: Cambridge Prisms: Plastics. 3, 24 p., e36.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access -
Expanding European fossil-based plastic production in a time of socio-ecological crisis: A neo-Gramscian perspective
Holmberg, K., Tilsted, J. P., Bauer, F. & Stripple, J., 2024 Sept 16, In: Energy Research & Social Science. 118, 13 p., 103759.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access -
Towards a Global Plastics Treaty: Tracing the UN Negotiations
Dreyer, E., Hansen, T., Holmberg, K., Olsen, T. & Stripple, J., 2024 Mar 11, Lund University. 36 p.Research output: Book/Report › Report › Research
Open AccessFile2375 Downloads (Pure) -
It takes two to tango: the second session of negotiations (INC-2) for a global treaty to end plastic pollution
Cowan, E., Holmberg, K., Nøklebye, E., Rognerud, I. & Tiller, R., 2024, In: Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences. 14, 2, p. 428-434Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access
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Incentive structure for tomorrow's plastic recycling
Holmberg, K. (PI)
2025/12/15 → 2027/12/31
Project: Research
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Embedded disposability: A cultural political economy of plastics
Holmberg, K. (Researcher), Stripple, J. (Supervisor), Skovgaard, J. (Assistant supervisor) & Hasselbalch, J. (Assistant supervisor)
MISTRA, Swedish foundation for strategic environmental research
2020/09/01 → 2025/06/01
Project: Dissertation
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STEPS Phase 2: STEPS – Sustainable Plastics and Transition Pathways, Phase 2
Hatti-Kaul, R. (PI), Egan, N. (Project communication officer), Generosi, J. (Project coordinator), Hulteberg, C. (Researcher), Bauer, F. (Researcher), Zhang, B. (Researcher), Englund Örn, O. (Research student), Sayed Ali Sayed, M. (Researcher), Hagman, A. (Research assistant), Leiva Eriksson, N. (Researcher), Pyo, S. H. (Researcher), Madsen, S. (Research student), Palm, E. (Research student), Nilsson, L. J. (Researcher), Ericsson, K. (Researcher), Stripple, J. (Researcher), Holmberg, K. (Research student), Liu, J. (Researcher), Molina-Besch, K. (Researcher), Mankar, S. (Research student), Warlin, N. (Research student), Nguyen, T. (Research student), Nordin, A. (Researcher), Dash, S. (Research student), Jannasch, P. (Researcher), Karlsson, H. (Research student), Abdelaziz, O. (Researcher), Garcia Gonzalez, N. (Researcher), Peric, S. (Administrator), Valsange, N. (Research student) & Rehnberg, N. (Researcher)
MISTRA, Swedish foundation for strategic environmental research
2020/09/01 → 2024/08/31
Project: Research
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STEPS: STEPS – Sustainable Plastics and Transition Pathways, Phase 1
Generosi, J. (Project coordinator), Hatti-Kaul, R. (PI), Pyo, S. H. (Researcher), Zhang, B. (PI), Turner, C. (Researcher), Rodriguez Meizoso, I. (Researcher), Wallberg, O. (Researcher), Hulteberg, C. (CoI), Diegel, O. (Researcher), Ristinmaa, M. (Researcher), Nilsson, L. J. (PI), Palm, E. (Research student), Ericsson, K. (Researcher), Hansen, T. (CoI), Klintman, M. (Researcher), Stripple, J. (Researcher), Bauer, F. (Researcher), Madsen, S. (PI), Jannasch, P. (Researcher), Egan, N. (Project communication officer), Nielsen, T. (Researcher), Holmberg, K. (Research assistant), Svantesson, A. (Research assistant), Hall, S. (Researcher), Mahmoud, S. (Researcher), Englund Örn, O. (Research student), Mankar, S. (Research student), Warlin, N. (Research student), Valsange, N. (Research student), Sanku, M. (Research student), Hasselbalch, J. (Researcher), Sjölin, M. (Research student), Hansen, T. (Researcher), Chen, L. (Research student), Nordin, A. (Researcher), Engqvist, J. (Research student), Garcia Gonzalez, N. (Researcher), Newson, W. R. (Researcher), Johansson, E. (Researcher), Kuktaite, R. (Researcher), Muneer, F. (Researcher), Nilsson , E. (Researcher), Guo, Z. (Researcher), Ahlqvist, J. (Administrator) & Peric, S. (Administrator)
MISTRA, Swedish foundation for strategic environmental research
2016/09/01 → 2020/08/31
Project: Research
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Activities
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Plastens intåg i Sverige granskas
Holmberg, K. (Interviewee)
2025 Oct 15Activity: Other › Media participation
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Självbetjäningsbutikerna lade grunden till plastmaterialens utveckling
Holmberg, K. (Interviewee)
2025 Oct 14Activity: Other › Media participation
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Vetenskapsradion (P1) - Så tog plasten tog över världen
Holmberg, K. (Participant)
2025 Sept 2Activity: Other › Media participation
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Vetenskapsradion (P1) - Plastens framtid kan avgöras nu
Holmberg, K. (Participant)
2025 Aug 8Activity: Other › Media participation
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Godmorgon världen (P1) - Svältläget i Gaza, upprustning i Tyskland, gnagarbekymmer i Argentina, Live Aid 40 år och herrelösa katter
Holmberg, K. (Participant)
2025 Jul 13Activity: Other › Media participation