Spotlight on: Dakila Yee
We’re delighted to introduce Dakila Kim Yee as part of our PhD/ECR Spotlight Series. Dakila is a PhD candidate at the University of Canberra where he researches the intersection of sustainability transitions and populism.
Find about more about Dakila via LinkedIn, Google Scholar and his researcher profile.
Tell us a bit about yourself.
Hi! I am Dakila Kim Yee, I am currently a PhD student at the Centre for Deliberative Democracy, Faculty of Business, Government and Law, University of Canberra (Australia). I am also an assistant professor (on study leave) at the Division of Social Sciences, University of the Philippines Tacloban (Philippines). I have a decade of teaching and research experience in the Philippines before embarking on my PhD studies. When I am not working, I usually go for a bushwalk, a run or go bouldering.
What are your research interests?
I am currently working on my PhD research project "Discourses of Low-Carbon Transitions in the Philippines under a Populist Regime”, which looks at how low-carbon policy proposals were discursively articulated in the Philippines during the populist regime of Rodrigo Duterte through two cases: public transportation modernisation and the institution of nuclear energy. I also look at the role of populist discourse in articulating low-carbon policy proposals and analyse the extent to which such discourses can affect policy uptake.
Before embarking on this PhD journey, I previously worked on topics exploring various themes such as the urban political ecology of disaster reconstruction in the Philippines, and state-civil society relationship in the Philippines. My previous research has been published in Philippine Studies: Historical and Ethnographic Viewpoints, Journal of Sociology, Critical Asian Studies and Peace Review.
What are three sources you’d recommend to others related to environment and climate politics?
I recommend the book The Far Right and the Environment: Politics, Discourse and Communication (Routledge) edited by Bernhard Forchtner (University of Leicester). This is a book with contributions from different authors across Europe who all explore the connection between right-wing populism and pro-environmental actions across different countries. I have previously grappled with the idea of why populists may explore pro-environmental policy under certain conditions, despite the general trend of climate skepticism and an extractivist agenda, but this book helped clarify potential themes for research.
In general, I recommend the following podcast series: The Belt and Road Podcast, which explores socio-environmental changes brought about by China's increased role in the global development arena (while I am not working on related topics, it is just a fascinating podcast).
Another podcast series that I recommend is In Common, which generally looks at institutional theory and environmental policy, but there are also some episodes that have a critical political ecology lens that I can broadly relate to.
What’s next for you?
I am going to present a paper based on my review of related literature on environmental populism, low-carbon policy and the Philippines at the Australian Political Studies Association (APSA) conference at the University of Melbourne from November 24-26, 2025. In 2026, I will be doing fieldwork in the Philippines and looking to wrap up data gathering by the last quarter of the year.
The ECP WG’s Spotlight Series provides a platform for PhD and early career researchers to introduce themselves and their work. If you are interested in participating, please get in touch at: ecp.group@bisa.ac.uk.
Top image by Paul Hudson via Flickr. Text has been added to the photo.