Article | Open Access
Profiles of Structural Exclusion in the Twin Transition: Ideal Types, Political Disaffection, and Participatory Governance
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Abstract: This article analyses how the simultaneous pursuit of green decarbonisation and digital transformation—the twin transition—generates disproportionate structural burdens on marginalised social groups. Drawing on Max Weber’s ideal‐type methodology (Idealtypus) and Spanish statistical evidence, it develops six prototypical profiles of structural exclusion across key twin‐transition sectors: urban mobility and transport, the platform and gig economy, rural energy and depopulation, digital public infrastructure and smart cities, digital agriculture, and urban renovation. Each profile identifies the mechanisms through which green and digital policies impose unequal costs on vulnerable groups, examining the resulting dynamics of institutional disaffection, potential political radicalisation, and common structural patterns. Comparative analysis identifies four recurring exclusion mechanisms—the upfront cost barrier, the digital literacy gateway, the geographic penalty, and knowledge disqualification—tracing a common pathway from structural exclusion to political disaffection. The article concludes by proposing five governance principles grounded in community work and participatory governance, offering a framework transferable to comparable EU contexts.
Keywords: community work; digital transition; energy poverty; green transition; mobility justice; participatory governance; precariate; radicalisation; social exclusion; twin transition
Published:
Issue:
Vol 14 (2026): Bridging Divides in the Twin Transition: Governance for Equity and Inclusion (In Progress)
© Andrés Arias Astray, Melisa Campana Alabarce, David Alonso González, Juan Brea Iglesias. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits any use, distribution, and reproduction of the work without further permission provided the original author(s) and source are credited.