Pathways to Sustainability: A Neo-Gramscian Exploration of Just Transition Initiatives in Thailand and the Philippines

Abstract

With the growing role of Southeast Asia as a strategic player in the global scene and the inherently transnational nature of issues and crises, this paper examines how the involved actors within the region navigate the complex and pressing issues that threaten the advancements of the region, specifically on the issue of climate change. In the face of just transition, developing countries like Thailand and the Philippines grapple with the dilemma between fully adopting just transition policies forwarded by multilateral agreements between different states and transnational organizations and focusing on existing issues like poverty, economic instability, and quality education. The objective of this paper is threefold. First is the identification of the national and multilateral initiatives of Thailand and the Philippines on just transition. Second, the examination of the impact of these initiatives on the economic and climate discourse of these countries. Lastly, this paper will provide a comparative analysis of just transition initiatives between Thailand and the Philippines framed after Winkler’s Neo-Gramscian model of just transition to analyze the current progress of the just transition process of Thailand and the Philippines and identify how the status quo influences the said process. This theory highlights the creation of a new hegemony that focuses on the roles of change agents who are working together to facilitate social change. With the limited resources available for developing countries like Thailand and the Philippines, this paper discusses their progress and initiatives in the face of these constraints. The ongoing efforts in these countries underscore a commitment to fostering inclusive and sustainable pathways in the face of economic and environmental transformations catalyzed by the climate crisis.