Green Transition and Environmental Justice in the European Periphery: Asymmetries and Contestation in the Western Balkans

Objective

Climate change mitigation is urgent, but if poorly designed, green transitions risk deepening inequalities between Europe’s core and periphery. ENVIJUST-WB examines how EU green transition policies affect the Western Balkans – an under-researched region, focusing on environmental justice, socio-political consequences, and structural power asymmetries. The project integrates political economy, environmental justice, and core–periphery theory to develop a model that links socio-environmental inequalities to systemic economic and geopolitical dynamics. Using a mixed-method approach, it combines elite interviews, ethnographic fieldwork, and document analysis with descriptive statistics. Outputs will include two peer-reviewed articles, policy briefs, and a comparative typology of green transition pathways in peripheral regions. Hosted by the University of Rijeka (UniRi), the fellowship integrates research, training, career development, and knowledge transfer. A secondment at the Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies (wiiw) will provide advanced economic analysis, regional data, and co-publication opportunities. The objectives are to: (1) critically assess EU external environmental governance in the WB; (2) uncover local socio-political and ecological consequences; and (3) propose just, inclusive, and sustainable policy frameworks. Gender and intersectional factors (class, ethnicity, geography) will be systematically addressed. The fellowship will strengthen the researcher’s career by advancing expertise in political economy, enhancing mixed-method skills, and expanding international networks. Dissemination and communication will include academic publications, open-access outputs, targeted policy briefs, workshops, and media engagement, ensuring scholarly visibility and societal impact.