Kari Otteburn

Kari Irwin Otteburn is a postdoctoral researcher at the Leuven Centre for Global Governance Studies of KU Leuven. Her work explores the intersections of global economic governance, business and human rights, and transnational governance and private regulation. Her research emphasizes human rights and environmental sustainability and the mitigation of the negative impacts of trade, investment and transnational business activities.

She studied at KU Leuven, Illinois Wesleyan University, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and the University of Illinois-Chicago. Her doctoral dissertation (KU Leuven) examined judicial and non-judicial mechanisms for achieving corporate accountability and securing remedies for human rights abuses linked to transnational business operations.

Her scholarly contributions have been featured in leading journals, including inter alia The International Journal of Human Rights, The Journal of World Investment and Trade, and Asia Europe Journal, as well as in numerous edited volumes. She is also a co-editor of the Research Handbook on Global Governance, Business and Human Rights (Edward Elgar, 2022). She has also consulted for national and international organizations, including the Belgian government, OECD National Contact Points, European institutions, and others.