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Multilevel governance under urgency: Developing battery industry in the EU

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  • Kotilainen, Juha M.
  • Sairinen, Rauno
  • Lehtimäki, Hanna
  • Mielonen, Nuppu

Abstract

Urgency has become a key concept in framing the need for rapid governance action to address global sustainability challenges. However, its impact on the multilevel governance of large-scale green industrialization processes remains insufficiently explored. We propose a three-dimensional framework – encompassing multilevel reinforcement, power dynamics and societal tensions – to investigate how heightening urgency is shaping the multilevel governance of the emerging electric vehicle battery industry in the EU and Finnish policy context. We find that urgency manifests as multilevel reinforcement across all tiers of governance, resulting in rapid development, high acceptance, and swift adaptation of new policies. It influences multilevel power dynamics by intensifying competition and fostering new arrangements that appear to favor larger economies and international corporations, while simultaneously generating risks, particularly at the regional level. We identify societal tensions related to the functionality of global value chains, permitting systems, trade-offs between local and global environmental impacts, and pervasive uncertainty. This study contributes to an increased understanding of multilevel governance systems in complex green industrialization processes.

Suggested Citation

  • Kotilainen, Juha M. & Sairinen, Rauno & Lehtimäki, Hanna & Mielonen, Nuppu, 2026. "Multilevel governance under urgency: Developing battery industry in the EU," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 112(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jrpoli:v:112:y:2026:i:c:s0301420725003678
    DOI: 10.1016/j.resourpol.2025.105825
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    References listed on IDEAS

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