Open doctoral topics | Specialisation in Government Studies

Legal Studies
DOCGS-2026-21: Regulation of multinational corporations and global tax governance

The increasing economic power and cross-border operations of multinational corporations have exposed significant limitations in national tax systems and existing frameworks of global tax governance. Multinational corporations operate across multiple jurisdictions, often exploiting regulatory gaps that enable profit shifting and tax base erosion. Despite recent initiatives led by organisations such as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), important questions remain regarding the effectiveness, legitimacy, and implementation of emerging global tax rules. This research area examines the governance challenges associated with regulating multinational corporations, focusing on international tax cooperation, regulatory coordination, and the implications for fiscal sovereignty, global economic governance, and equitable taxation.

Supervisor(s): Angelo Rafael (angelo.rafael@usj.edu.mo)

Academic Unit: Faculty of Business and Law

Keywords: Global Tax Governance, Multinational Corporations, International Taxation, Corporate Tax Regulation

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Legal Studies
DOCGS-2026-20: The Crisis of the WTO Dispute Settlement System

The dispute settlement system of the World Trade Organisation has long been regarded as a cornerstone of the multilateral trading system, providing a rules-based mechanism for resolving trade disputes between member states. However, in recent years, the system has faced a profound institutional crisis, particularly following the paralysis of the WTO Appellate Body due to the blockage of judicial appointments. This situation has raised fundamental questions about the effectiveness, legitimacy, and future of multilateral trade adjudication. Key research problems include the causes of the institutional deadlock, the implications for compliance with international trade rules, and the emergence of alternative dispute settlement arrangements. This research area examines potential pathways for reform and the broader consequences of the crisis for global economic governance.

Supervisor(s): Angelo Rafael (angelo.rafael@usj.edu.mo)

Academic Unit: Faculty of Business and Law

Keywords: Word Trade Organization, WTO Dispute Settlement, Multilateral Trading System, Trade Dispute Resolution

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E-Government
DOCGS-2026-19: AI and Public Service delivery

The integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into the public sector represents a paradigm shift in how governments interact with citizens and manage resources. Through a case study, this research scrutinizes how the use of AI is enhancing the efficiency, accessibility, and quality of public services and informing policy-making. Besides, it will address challenges related to AI use, including ethical concerns about algorithmic bias, data privacy, the digital divide, and the need for robust regulatory frameworks.

Supervisor(s): Ansoumane Douty Diakite (doutyk@usj.edu.mo)

Academic Unit: Faculty of Business and Law

Keywords: Artificial Intelligence, Public Service Delivery, Algorithmic Bias, Citizen Experience, Smart Cities, Public Sector Innovation

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International Trade Policies
DOCGS-2026-18: Trade and Climate Policy

Trade and climate policies are increasingly intertwined, leveraging international commerce to meet global emissions targets, with nearly 25% of greenhouse gases embedded in traded goods (Climate Leadership Council, 2025). Key approaches include border carbon adjustment mechanisms (fees on high-emission imports), green subsidies to boost low-carbon technology, and international cooperation on climate-aligned trade measures. These strategies aim to reduce emissions while avoiding "carbon leakage". However, each raises unique theoretical and practical problems that deserve to be further studied.

Supervisor(s): Angelo Rafael (angelo.rafael@usj.edu.mo)

Academic Unit: Faculty of Business and Law

Keywords: Trade and Climate Policy, Carbon Border Adjustment, Green Subsidies, Low-Carbon Technology, Climate-Related Trade Measures

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International Trade Policies
DOCGS-2026-17: Cross-border Data Flow and Digital Trade

In the 21st-century digital economy, data has emerged as a critical economic asset, and its movement across international borders is the lifeblood of digital trade.
Thus, this proposal aims to examine the symbiotic relationship between cross-border data flow liberalisation and the growth of global e-commerce, cloud computing, and networked services, along with the challenges posed by the regulatory restrictions. In this regard, the research will explore emerging global, regional, and bilateral approaches to building and sustaining relations between data flows and digital trade.

Supervisor(s): Ansoumane Douty Diakite (doutyk@usj.edu.mo)

Academic Unit: Faculty of Business and Law

Keywords: Cross-border Data Flows, Digital Trade, Data Localization, Data Sovereignty, Digital Economy, Trade Agreements

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Global Governance
DOCGS-2026-16: Governance of big tech companies in the global digital economy

The growing influence of large technology companies in the global digital economy raises significant governance challenges for states, regulators, and international institutions. These firms play a central role in digital markets, data infrastructures, and online platforms, shaping economic competition, information flows, and technological innovation. However, existing regulatory frameworks often struggle to address issues related to market concentration, data governance, algorithmic accountability, and cross-border digital regulation. This research area examines how national and international governance mechanisms can effectively deal with the challenges posed by large technology firms, while still balancing the promotion of innovation, protection of consumer rights, and ensuring fair competition.

Supervisor(s): Angelo Rafael (angelo.rafael@usj.edu.mo)

Academic Unit: Faculty of Business and Law

Keywords: Governance, big tech companies, digital economy, data governance

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Global Governance
DOCGS-2026-15: Climate governance and energy transition

Climate change mitigation requires rapid transformations in energy systems, yet the governance frameworks guiding this transition remain fragmented, uneven, and politically contested. Despite growing international commitments to decarbonization, significant gaps persist between climate policy objectives and their implementation across national and local contexts. This research area examines the governance challenges associated with the energy transition, including regulatory coordination, institutional capacity, and policy coherence. It also explores the role of public and private actors in climate governance systems and how they shape climate and energy outcomes.

Supervisor(s): Angelo Rafael (angelo.rafael@usj.edu.mo)

Academic Unit: Faculty of Business and Law

Keywords: Climate Governance, Energy Transition, Climate Litigation, Energy Policy, Environmental Governance

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Global Governance
DOCGS-2026-14: AI governance and beyond

The advent of AI has raised various ethical and legal challenges. Its governance has raised a regulatory dilemma: whether to adopt a global alignment approach or a national interest approach. In the current state , creating consistent international standards is hindered by differing national priorities and geopolitical competition. Besides, the existing AI governance system faces challenges in defining clear accountability mechanisms (legal and ethical responsibility), ensuring transparency, and addressing bias.
This research explores various issues in AI governance:
a) Interactive Relation between Global and National AI Governance Systems
b) A search for Alternative Frameworks for AI Governance
d) Liability Models for Autonomous AI Systems
e) AI and Data Privacy
f) International Law for AI: an exploratory study.

Supervisor(s): Ansoumane Douty Diakite (doutyk@usj.edu.mo)

Academic Unit: Faculty of Business and Law

Keywords: National Governance, Global Governance, Liability, Data Privacy, International Law, AI

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Global Governance
DOCGS-2024-04: Sustainable Development Policies and Practices

Currently, around 193 UN Member States have adopted the 17 Sustainable Development Goals as an integral part of their national development strategic policies. Using case studies, the research challenge here is to examine and compare states' practices for implementing Sustainable Development Goals. As SDGs are a cross-cutting issue, all topics related to the 17 SDGs, the 169 SDG Targets and the 232 indicators are welcome.

Supervisor(s): Ansoumane Douty Diakite (doutyk@usj.edu.mo)

Academic Unit: Faculty of Business and Law

Keywords: N/A

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Global Governance
DOCGS-2024-05: Global Governance

International action must consider the complexity of domestic issues and their transnational and global implications. In this regard, this research focuses on the following topics: the effectiveness of global institutions in global governance, International cooperation in global pandemic management, and the assessment of global governance in international trade, investment and migration. Also, other issues include the challenges of establishing global rules, standards and institutions, the role and participation of non-state actors in the global governance Process and the effectiveness of international development cooperation.

Supervisor(s): Angelo Rafael (angelo.rafael@usj.edu.mo)

Academic Unit: Faculty of Business and Law

Keywords: N/A

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Public Policy and Administration
DOCGS-2024-03: Leadership and Governance in the Public Sector

The constant mutations in public administrations have raised important ethical issues. These mutations are the result of the changing expectations of the citizens in government to adopt a new form of governance and principles governing the delivery of public services. Therefore, through a case study, this research focuses on the following four areas: Ethics and E-Government; Ethical issues in Public-Private Partnerships; Implementation of Ethical standards; Comparative ethical problems solving.

Supervisor(s): Ansoumane Douty Diakite (doutyk@usj.edu.mo)

Academic Unit: Faculty of Business and Law

Keywords: N/A

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E-Government
DOCGS-2024-02: E-Government

The Macau government has been investing a vast amount of time and resources in developing Macao into a smart city through the application of e-government over the last 15 years or more. These efforts have seen success in other cities. We are currently applying the Theory of Planned Behaviour to study the adoption of e-government by different groups of citizens in Macau and civil servants involved in the implementation of e-systems for various government departments. For a more comprehensive understanding of the behaviour and action of citizens, we call for studies applying other theories or frameworks to analyse the behaviour of e-government applications and adoption in Macau.

Supervisor(s): Jenny Oliveros Lao Phillips (jennylao@usj.edu.mo)

Academic Unit: Faculty of Business and Law

Keywords: N/A

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Public Policy and Administration
DOCGS-2024-01: Public Policy Studies

Governments use Public Policies to regulate, distribute, and redistribute wealth. Research in this field is directed at analysing public decision-making and the impact of policies on society. Therefore, the PhD in Public Policy Studies includes the following interdisciplinary areas: A case study of public policy making and implementation, a case study of policy analysis and evaluation, and a case study of sectoral policies: education, health, economic, social, and environmental. At the international level, this research will examine the impact of global/regional integration on domestic policy-making and the assessment of international development policies.

Supervisor(s): Ansoumane Douty Diakite (doutyk@usj.edu.mo)

Academic Unit: Faculty of Business and Law

Keywords: N/A

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Last Updated: January 24, 2024 at 1:53 pm

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