Timeline: 2024
Funding organisation: Swiss Leading House for research collaboration with partner institutions in South Asia and Iran
Keywords: Democracy; Political participation; Local government; Environmental policies; Social Movements; Environmental justice

Local environmental democracy and the pursuit of green transitions are indispensable pillars of sustainable development efforts worldwide. As people and ecosystems confront escalating environmental challenges, there is a growing recognition of local stakeholders' pivotal role in decision-making processes. This project seeks to explore how local institutional mechanisms and political mobilizations shape green transitions. It asks: What is the interplay between environmental democracy and the pursuit of green transitions efforts worldwide? Which constellations of actors can be observed and how do they map onto decentralised institutional environments?

Focusing on India and Switzerland, the project will situate the discussion within the global contestations over discourses, practices, and policies of environmental justice and “green” or “just” transitions. Exploring the dynamics of local environmental democracy in India, Switzerland as well as their bordering regions will enable to understand how diverse actors and communities navigate environmental governance processes in federal states and how they mobilize for sustainable change and environmental justice.

A key milestone of the project is the international conference hosted by the Albert Hirschman Centre on Democracy on 23-25 October 2024. The conference aims to bring together scholars from a range of disciplines (including political science, anthropology, sociology, legal studies, environmental studies, history, economics). It is organised by Christine Lutringer (Albert Hirschman Centre on Democracy, Geneva Graduate Institute) and Rusha Das (Indian Institute of Management - IIM Bangalore).