The European Green Deal as a Game Changer in Domestic Climate Policies?
The project investigates the transformative potential of the European Green Deal (EGD) on domestic climate policies across European Union (EU) member states. The EGD, launched in 2019, aims to achieve climate neutrality by 2050 through ambitious environmental and economic reforms. While its objectives are widely celebrated, the implementation across diverse national contexts reveals significant variations in outcomes and conflicts among stakeholders. This study explores how the EGD functions as an external driver of institutional change within domestic climate policy fields, focusing on the interplay of beliefs, power struggles, and legitimacy among key stakeholders.
Adopting a comparative case study approach, the project examines three EU member states—Germany, Poland, and Sweden—selected for their distinct economic structures, political orientations, and climate policies. These countries provide a fertile ground for analyzing how the EGD influences domestic beliefs, reshapes institutional norms, and either mitigates or exacerbates conflicts. The analysis is grounded in the strategic action field framework and the "usages of Europe" model, which together offer insights into stakeholders' strategies, including the cognitive, strategic, and legitimizing use of the EGD to achieve their objectives.
The study’s findings will elucidate the conditions under which the EGD leads to either incremental changes—preserving existing norms while introducing modest policy adaptations—or disruptive shifts that redefine domestic climate policy paradigms. It also seeks to uncover how different actors, such as governments, industry representatives, and environmental organizations, engage with the EGD to influence public opinion, policy frameworks, and power dynamics.
By focusing on four key EGD policy instruments, including market-based tools like emissions trading and regulatory measures, this research delves into the mechanisms of stakeholder interaction and conflict resolution. Through qualitative methods, such as interviews, document analysis, and stakeholder mapping, the project aims to reveal how beliefs about the EGD’s legitimacy shape the pathways of institutional change.
This research contributes to the broader understanding of climate governance by highlighting the critical role of domestic contexts and stakeholder dynamics in realizing the EGD’s vision. It provides actionable insights into how multilevel governance strategies like the EGD can address global challenges such as climate change while accommodating the socio-economic complexities of diverse political systems. By identifying the drivers of both success and resistance, the study offers a roadmap for policymakers to enhance the EGD’s effectiveness and foster sustainable transitions across the EU.
The project is a subproject of the DFG Research Unit Big Structural Change
Funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG)
Projektbeteiligte: Katharina Zimmermann
Projektlaufzeit: 01.12.2025 – 31.12.2028