The observatory connects leading researchers and research centers in political sociology, social policy, and comparative politics from different continents to advance collaborative research, strengthen academic exchange, and promote policy insights. The observatory enables participants from multiple institutions to produce joint educational modules, joint publications, and joint research grant proposals.

The Observatory functions as a cross-continental research, teaching, and outreach platform. It connects scholars working on political economy, development, environmental politics, and democracy to generate original research and translate it into educational and public-facing outputs.

The Global Observatory on Just Transitions examines the democratic, political-economic, and developmental challenges arising from the global decarbonization process. It starts from the premise that the green transition is one of the most profound stress tests facing democratic governance worldwide, reshaping distributional conflicts, political legitimacy, and geopolitical power relations. The Observatory investigates how democratic institutions shape—and are reshaped by—energy transitions, and under what conditions decarbonization enhances democratic resilience or instead fuels polarization, authoritarian consolidation, and social resistance.