Post-Coal Fantasies: An Actor-Network Theory-Inspired Critique of Post-Coal Development Strategies in the Jiu Valley, Romania

Abstract

Romania is among the countries with a long history of coal mining, which intensified in the context of the industrialization and urbanization policies during the socialist period. During the post-socialist transition, mining units decreased considerably, with those considered economically unprofitable being restructured and eventually closed. This process, which began in the late 1990s, continues today with the increasing discussions about the transition from coal in Romania, the commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and the signing of the Paris Agreement, which stipulates the abandonment of coal by 2030. The Jiu Valley region is Romania’s most important mono-industrial area that developed exclusively around coal extraction. This article proposes an analysis of the social impact of reducing mining activity in this area based on actor-network theory. Recently, the discussions on the “Just Transition” in the Jiu Valley have culminated with the “Jiu Valley Economic, Social, and Environmental Development Strategy” (2021–2030) and the related Action Plan. This paper seeks to address the question: how were people “brought in” for the production of coal during socialism, how were they subsequently “pushed out”, and how challenging is it now for the Jiu Valley strategy to reassemble a network to support the post-coal transition? Our analysis helps to understand, in an innovative way, the challenges of the Jiu Valley Strategy as a mismatch between a creative and entrepreneurial city model on the one hand and the ruralized/small urban (former mono-industrial) conditions prevailing in the Jiu Valley on the other. We thus provide a critical analysis of the strategy as one that is conceptually wedded to the large urban center model and applies the just transition framework in a decontextualized way. We emphasize the role of the dismantling of coal production in the narrowing of the space of possibilities of change brought about by the just transition. Using the published literature on the Jiu Valley, we also show what broader lessons can be drawn from this case for similar transition processes in Central and Eastern Europe.