Global Transformation Towards Sustainability—Clusters of Current Scholarly Discourse

Studying global transformation towards sustainability is a colossal task. The difficulties in determining the scope, boundaries and levels of the analysis have ramifications for the conceptual value of attempts to understand global transformation towards sustainability. Because of the plurality of possible entry points as well as the complexity of various issues involved, providing an overview of the academic debate, if one can speak of a single debate on global transformation towards sustainability, is highly challenging.

Jamaica—The Transformation Towards Sustainability of an Island Economy Under Austerity Measures

This chapter diverges from the previous case studies. In addition to a literature review and qualitative interviews of local stakeholders, this chapter also contextualizes sustainable, low-carbon transformation by using an innovative experiment, where participants played the role of a decision-making government official committing to decisions under specific conditions (e.g., imposed austerity measures). When applied to Jamaica, the specific parameters of a scenario are assumed and through solution-oriented role playing, the process of decision-making is analyzed.

The United States of America—Disruptive Governments, Social Movements and Technocrats in Transformation Processes Towards Sustainability

The election of the populist Donald Trump to the United States is argued to be a consequence of the fluke of the electoral college, the lackluster Democratic turnout, and the anti-establishment and populist sentiments in the population. Through effective gerrymandering after the 2000 general elections, the Republican party and its presidential candidate Trump won the elections, even though he lost the popular vote by close to 3 million ballots. Another example of the flaw of the electoral system is shown by the 2018 midterm elections.

Trade-Offs and Turnstiles as the Main Drivers of the Transformation Process Towards Sustainability

This chapter is a major pillar of the theoretical framework and reiterates how this book understands the intricacies of decision-making in the context of transformation towards sustainability. It looks at how power, identities, path dependence, emotions, norms, institutions and paradigms can promote or inhibit effective decision-making. This understanding aims not only to achieve the ‘deconstruction’ of paradigmatically ‘given’ terms, which are widespread within and across disciplines, but, equally importantly, to also develop and/or refine decision tools to address complexity and uncertainty.

The Philippines as a Case Study—Populism and Institutional Activism in Transformation Processes Towards Sustainability

The current resurgence and reinforcement of populists in many countries has profited not only from various real or imagined crises (e.g., 2015-present refugee crisis in Europe or the caravan of migrants in Latin America heading to the United States), but also from how established political parties and polities have addressed these crises, which have disenfranchised, in a de facto manner, a significant portion of the population. Former Greek finance minister and Professor of Economics at the University of Athens, Yanis Varoufakis, notes that President Trump’s election, Brexit, and the resurgence of right-wing political parties in Germany, Austria & other countries are not new in history, but merely “a post-modern variant of the 1930s, complete with deflation, xenophobia, and divide-and-rule politics” (Varoufakis 2016). Populist movements have found and instrumentalized compelling issues, such as emission reduction, to gain political importance.

A Critical Outlook on Assumptions—Decision Systems in Transformation Towards Sustainability

Some assumptions about decision systems in the context of transformation towards sustainability will be presented in this chapter. These assumptions are backed by rationales, which highlight the utility preferences of agents and audience. In addition, trade-offs reflect the selection of the most important caveats that decision-makers are confronted with.

The Systems Perspective on the Transformation Towards Sustainability

From the systems perspective, the ultimate ‘Angst’ of societies is the occurrence of ‘dystopian’ system rupture, which can be the outcome not only of unexpected events leading to the elimination of principles that bind actors together (e.g., identity), but also by purported solutions that create further ‘horrendous’ events. System ruptures are not only linked with natural hazards such as earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, and pandemics (such as the Ebola outbreak), but also with collapsing national governments and regimes, for example following the outbreak of a popular revolt after a state-sanctioned escalation of violence (e.g., Mubarak’s Egypt and Ghadafi’s Libya) or an outside intervention (e.g., Saddam Hussein’s regime in Iraq following the US intervention). Assuming that transformation can be either a response to a collapsed system or a preventive effort to avert collapse, this chapter starts by looking at the cognitive aspects of transformation in terms of experiences.

Lessons for Practice: Reflexivity and Stakeholder Engagement for Transformations Towards Sustainability

This chapter intends to present a practical approach to strategically facilitating sustainable, low-carbon transformation. The recommendations that can be made are presented while using a Weberian understanding (Verstehen) of various variables and dynamics that has been crystalized through this book’s theoretical foundation (chapters 2 to 6), methodological tools (chapters 7 and 8), case studies (chapters 9 to 12), simulation game (part of chapter 12), and the theoretical claims through the conceptual framework (chapter 13). A major contribution of this book is a set of recommendations that aim to support an inquiry-based, reflective, collaborative, and integrative facilitation of the transformation process.

Introduction—That Big Green Elephant in the Room

Transformations, transitions and structural changes are not new to human civilization. Transitions can be emergent, that is, a subservient response to changes such as technological breakthroughs, or purposive, that is, a strategically instigated effort to achieve certain goals. Changes are constantly occurring and define identities, aspirations and how we see our human nature (Menschenbild), how we interact with each other, and how we make sense of the world (Weltbild).

Ideal Types—Theoretical Models as Agent of Transformation Towards Sustainability

This chapter introduces the ideal types of a transformative policy pathway as the agencies of transformation: democratic, authoritarian, institutional, activistic, technocratic or bureaucratic, and post-democratic. Functioning as ‘corridors’ where transformation is facilitated, each of these ideal types of policy models may have distinct preferences regarding procedures of collective decision-making. These procedures are, for example, highly dependent upon existing path dependencies defined by how each ideal type tends to draw legitimacy in front of its audience.