Analytical framework and research methodology Sample Clauses

Analytical framework and research methodology. 1.1 The analytical framework: the European Green Deal, the just transition and the welfare state As framed in the EGD Communication, the LNOB principle can be considered as a cross-cutting principle, to be taken into account in the implementation of actions related to the whole EGD. Although the wording in the EGD Communication gives an idea of the scope of this principle – highlighting the need to ‘put people first, and pay attention to the regions, industries and workers who will face the greatest challenges’ (European Commission 2019a: 2) – few details are provided to explain the concrete implications of this principle and how it was intended to be implemented. Hence, to better outline the LNOB principle and to empirically explore how it has been integrated into the implementation of the EGD, more precise 'coordinates' are needed than those found in the EGD Communication. In this respect, it is important to note that, in the EGD, the LNOB principle is intrinsically linked to the notion of ensuring a ‘just transition’. While no shared definitions of the latter notion exist (neither in academic nor in policy-making circles – cf. Xxxxxx and Xxxxx 2020; Xxxxxxxx and Pochet 2022; Kalt 2022; Stevis et al. 2020), linking the LNOB principle to the academic debate on the just transition nevertheless makes it possible to identify two key variables for our empirical analysis: i) the scope of the LNOB principle (challenges addressed and groups/territories supported by just transition policies), in other words, the targets of just transition initiatives; and ii) (eco-) social policies (4) deployed to support the achievement of a just transition. Together with the transformative purpose of the actions envisaged, the scope of the just transition initiatives and concrete policies implemented can indeed be considered as key dimensions reflecting differing (institutional, societal, and academic) understandings of the notion of a just transition. In this study we do not rely on any existing definitions of the just transition: our objective is to identify empirically, through textual analysis, the EU understanding of this notion in the context of the implementation of the EGD, using the dimensions of targets and welfare functions performed by (eco-social) policies as the main reference points guiding us in this endeavour. Regarding the first dimension, we have already highlighted that the EGD Communication explicitly mentions regions, industries and workers particularly vu...