Dr. Jale Tosun is a Professor of Political Science at the Institute of Political Science, University of Heidelberg. She is well known internationally for her research work on the comparative analysis of climate, environmental and energy policy, Europeanization, and governance more broadly.
In the RECODE-MLG project Prof. Jale Tosun is the leader of WP4 “Rural and (Peri-)Urban environments for Twin Transition”, where she assesses together with her team two regions that are characterised by the close proximity of rural, peri-urban and urban areas in relation to twin transition (the Rhein-Neckar region, Germany and the Agder region, Norway). Professor Jale Tosun’s objective is to identify and examine formats for co-creation aiming at facilitating the twin transition in these different areas the potential for co-creation of twin transition within rural and (peri)urban environments can be better understood.
Last year, she co-authored together with the researcher Christin Heinz Fisher from Heidelberg University, a book on the topic of European Climate Ambassadors, where they analyze the profiles, motivations, strategies and practical experience of European Climate Pact Ambassadors, examining how they engage citizens and contribute to participatory climate governance within the EU. European Climate Pact Ambassadors were created by the European Green Deal and are tasked to support the green transition.
- In your view, how can European Climate Pact Ambassadors better bridge the gap between local citizen initiatives and high-level EU climate governance?
European Climate Pact Ambassadors can play a bridging role by translating EU-level climate ambitions into meaningful narratives and local climate action. They can also shape climate action beyond the local level by channeling grassroots experiences back into high-level policy deliberations.
- What structural or institutional factors most strongly influence citizens willingness and ability to participate in democratic processes? How would you define meaningful democratic participation and what criteria would you use to distinguish it from symbolic or low impact forms of citizen engagement?
Socioeconomic inequality and the design of participatory institutions are among the most important determinants of whether citizens can meaningfully engage in democratic processes. Meaningful participation, in my view, goes beyond attendance or consultation. It much more requires that citizens can place issues on the political agenda and that their input shapes decisions. Symbolic engagement, by contrast, is characterized by pre-determined outcomes, tokenistic representation, and a lack of accountability to those who participated.
- How does European Climate Pact Ambassadors: Motivation, Strategies and Experiences reflect the research objectives of the RECODE-MLG project, in terms of democratic representation and citizen participation in the European Union?
The study on European Climate Pact Ambassadors speaks directly to RECODE-MLG’s concern with how democratic representation and citizen participation function across multiple levels of EU governance. By examining the motivations, strategies, and experiences of ambassadors, it sheds light on whether existing EU participatory mechanisms empower citizens or reproduce existing patterns of exclusion. This makes it a valuable empirical contribution to understanding the conditions under which bottom-up engagement can meaningfully feed into multilevel governance structures.
- You emphasize that “place matters.” How do differences between rural, peri-urban, and urban areas shape their respective capacities to advance the green and digital transition
The green and digital transition is not a uniform process. We hypothesize in our work package that it unfolds very differently depending on the infrastructural, institutional, and social resources available in a given place. Rural areas, for instance, often face connectivity deficits and less administrative capacities that constrain both digital uptake and climate action, while urban areas may have greater resources but also greater coordination challenges. Recognizing these place-based differences is essential for designing transition policies that are not only ambitious but also territorially just and practically feasible.
- The planned surveys for RECODE in Germany and Norway aim to assess public perceptions of the twin transition. What kinds of differences do you expect to find between urban and rural populations regarding responsibility attribution and policy priorities within the multilevel governance (MLG) system?
We expect to find notable differences in how urban and rural populations attribute responsibility for the twin transition, with rural respondents more likely to perceive national and EU-level actors as distant and insufficiently attentive to local realities. Urban populations may be more familiar with EU climate instruments and more inclined to support regulatory approaches, whereas rural respondents might prioritize economic security and local autonomy. These differences will be important for understanding how legitimacy and trust in the MLG system vary across territorial contexts.
- Will the survey also collect data that allows for intersectional analysis (e.g., combinations of gender, age, rural/urban residence, socioeconomic status, migration background, etc.), beyond treating these variables separately?
Yes, the survey is designed to allow for intersectional analysis, recognizing that variables such as gender, age, socioeconomic status, and migration background interact in ways that a purely additive approach would miss. For example, the experiences of older women in rural, low-income contexts with the digital transition are likely to differ substantially from those of younger, urban, highly educated respondents.
- From your perspective, what is the greatest challenge in meaningfully integrating citizens and stakeholders from rural, peri-urban, and urban areas into co-creation processes for the twin transition?
Designing processes that are genuinely inclusive across rural, peri-urban, and urban contexts requires significant investment in outreach, capacity-building, and trust. Furthermore, there needs to be an honest reckoning that power asymmetries exist and these shape who gets to co-create and on whose terms. Without addressing these structural inequities, co-creation risks reinforcing rather than correcting existing disparities in the twin transition.
- In mapping existing MLG arrangements in the Rhine-Neckar region and the Agder region, which indicators will be most crucial for identifying overlaps and gaps between digitalization policies and green transition measures?
The most important indicators will likely be those that reveal not just what governance arrangements formally exist, but how well they actually coordinate across levels and policy domains. Identifying where mandates overlap without coordination or where gaps leave important transitions ungoverned will be key to producing actionable recommendations.
- How can the findings from the two case studies contribute to improving the broader EU multilevel governance framework for managing the twin transition?
The two case studies offer a rare opportunity for structured comparison across different national and regional contexts, which is invaluable for identifying which MLG configurations are most conducive to managing the twin transition effectively and legitimately. By grounding abstract governance questions in the concrete realities of Rhine-Neckar and Agder, the findings can generate transferable insights about what works, for whom, and under what conditions.
Thank you for your time and valuable insights and best of luck with your future endeavors!
