Just transitions in a dual labor market: Right wing populism and austerity in the German energiewende

Just transition (JT) policies provide state assistance to displaced energy workers as governments phase out fossil fuels and pursue sustainability. Corporatist bargaining structures facilitate the negotiation of JT policies. Some labor officials and policymakers believe JTs can prevent right wing populists from gaining supporters in coal-dependent areas and provide the international labor movement with renewed energy and focus. This article examines the political consequences of corporatism and JT policies in Germany. Although Germany provides relatively generous assistance to displaced coal workers, right wing populists are nonetheless gaining ground in coal-dependent areas of Germany. The corporatist negotiations through which stakeholders arrange transitional compensation for coal workers may undermine international labor solidarity by enabling nationalist export promotion strategies. Any JT capable of disadvantaging the far right and fostering international solidarity, I argue, will be integrated into a left wing populist hegemonic project.