LIST OF PANELS

Green state governance has raised increased attention in the context of the environmental crisis (Bäckstrand and Kronsell 2015, Duit et al. 2016, Eckersley 2004 and 2020). However, the “green(ing the) state” literature applies more a polity- than a policy-centred approach. As for the policy studies, there is an imbalance: while the content of sustainable (energy-, transportation, agricultural etc.) policies has been extensively studied, the procedural and institutional aspects of the policy process enabling the formulation of those policy measures has received much less attention. Much has also been written on the “super wickedness” of such problems (Levin et al., 2009 ; Head 2019) as well as on the specific role of within-state “climate change makers” and to innovations in governance (Jordan et al. 2018), emphasizing the role of “new” discourses, actors, and policy tools (Hajer 1995; Jordan et al. 2003).  However, less attention has been given to the policy process itself, in terms of governing resources, the preparedness of the central administration, the choice and selection of public policy instruments etc. Yet taking stock from the literature on public policy processes and acknowledging its political nature whether at policy formulation or at policy implementation stages (Zittoun et al., 2021), the process by which green state governance is made material through policy analytics, budgetary planning, enforcement procedures, is expected to come up against several barriers and to give rise to conflicts, both within and beyond the state apparatus. In addition, questioning whether the classic state apparatus is fit for meeting a challenge of unprecedented scale and delivering on large-scale, transformative changes, also led some authors to questioning the relevance of public policy research concepts and tools (Hausknost, 2020; Berglund et al., 2022). Moreover, others have highlighted potential contradictions with existing state-market-society relations, whether in democratic societies (Fischer 2019), in the context of democratic backsliding (Gomide et al. 2022), and in capitalist societies (Meadowcroft 2005; Hausknost 2023).

Taking stock from this burgeoning literature and acknowledging the need for more systematic and comparative work, this panel first proposes to identify 1) the challenges in the governance process that may hinder the formulation and implementation of green policies, 2) the possible institutional and/or organizational solutions to meet those challenges. Second, specific attention will be given to the governing of such processes, whether at policy formulation or policy implementation stages, by either giving specific attention to governing resources and capacities, or to the choice and selection of specific public policy tools. 

This panel calls for papers examining the various ways in which green state governance enfolds across different political and institutional contexts. It purposefully focuses on within-public policy process dynamics, rather than a polity perspective or an issue-specific policy area. In doing so, it first seeks to contribute to a better understanding of the challenges that may hinder the formulation and implementation of green policies, whether in terms of governing resources (i.e. Hood 1983, nodality, authority, treasury, organization), climate delaying discourses (Lamb et al. 2020), the recruitment and the career of civil servants, etc. Second, it proposes to explore what possible institutional and/or organizational solutions have been introduced to meet those challenges, that is in their ability to overcome such barriers and strengthen the state’s preparedness to address the environmental crisis. Third, specific attention will be given to the governing of such processes, whether at policy formulation or policy implementation stages, by either giving specific attention to governing resources and capacities, or to the choice and selection of specific tools. Fourth, it proposes to examine the governing of such processes, whether at policy formulation or policy implementation stages, by focusing on governing resources and capacities, the choice and selection of specific public policy tools.

Papers addressing one or several of the following issues, whether conceptually or methodologically, are welcome:

-          The challenges in the governance process that may hinder the formulation and implementation of green policies;

-          The possible institutional and/or organizational solutions to meet those challenges;

-          The governing of transformative processes of change, whether at policy formulation or policy implementation stages

-          The role of international (e.g., IPCC, OECD, etc.) and regional organizations (e.g., ASEAN, EU, etc.) in shaping policy agenda and developments through goals setting, as well as through the diffusion of specific public policy tools;

-          Papers drawing on comparative public policy and governance analysis, to account for main differences and similarities across and within different regions.