Green Deal

Focusing on climate change as a driver, Subproject “Green Deal” engages in the frame-work of the research unit's beliefs-externalities-legitimacy (BEL) model with both the research unit’s conflict-abatement hypothesis and the conflict-escalation hypothesis. It seeks to answer the question how and under which conditions the European Green Deal works as an externality in different EU member states, altering domestic beliefs. By drawing on recent debates in Europeanisation and environmental transformation studies, which suggest that a ‘green transition’ at the European level will also fundamentally affect domestic institutions by altering beliefs and potentially withdrawing legitimacy from existing institutions, "Green Deal" contributes to closing a literature gap on European Green Deal-induced institutional change in EU member states. "Green Deal" adopts a case-oriented qualitative approach to test the working hypotheses that a) if incumbents are able to successfully settle domestic power struggles (presumably via cognitive and/or strategic usage of the European Green Deal), conflict abatement is likely (altered beliefs), while b) if challengers are able to successfully settle domestic power struggles (presumably via legitimating usage of the European Green Deal), conflict escalation is likely (withdrawn legitimacy). The analysis of three different instruments of the European Green Deal (e.g., carbon pricing, subsidies for renewable energy sources, regulations or emission bans) in three EU member states (Germany, Poland, and Sweden) is expected to result in an in-depth understanding of domestic implementation of the European Green Deal, related conflicts and resulting institutional change.