adopted; economic thinking plays a central role. Discussions of The Great
Transition continue online at http://www.greattransition.org.
Please bear in mind that naturally I can only present selective reviews that are
mere snapshots of hundreds of pages. They will not do justice to the entire work but
instead provide an insight into the core concepts and basic assumptions underlying
these hallmark publications and their respective camps, at best triggering an
appetite for more.
2.1.1 Socio-technical Systems and Their Innovations
The goals of STS thinking as developed in the STRN community could be summarized as follows: how can we understand innovations systemically—and apply
this knowledge for sustainability purposes. It fits firmly into what I call the reflexive
ontology. The status quo of our world is viewed as a constant reproductive process
in which “internal dynamics, external influences and the resulting feedback loops
keep on rearranging the ordering” (Grin et al. 2010: 6). Technologies are therefore
not viewed in isolation but in conjunction with the social practices, norms, and
institutions that enable or hamper their use and influence choices between the
options on offer. Meanwhile, adopting certain technological solutions rather than
others will also influence which institution, infrastructures or business models seem
promising and sensible to make good use of.
The diversity of energy systems highlights these co-evolutionary properties. The
availability of resources on a particular territory and in geopolitical relations with
potential delivery partners will make some fuels and raw materials for harvesting
technologies more desirable then others. The availability of investments depends on
the desirability of proposed solutions, while existing market and ownership structures
will play an additional role in these judgments. Meanwhile, knowledge about the
negative pollution effects and risks of some fuels compared to others will impact
citizen opinions, while consumer acceptance of technological solutions depends on
consumer budgets and habits. Policymakers navigate this set of information and
preferences in order to shape governing solutions that find support from lobbyists and
voters—which will in turn impact geopolitical relations and investment expectations.
Breaking out of a particular system of energy supply therefore depends on changes in
all of these dimensions rather than only in the availability of alternative technologies.
The highly political battles over the ongoing renewable energy transition in
Germany and the fierce opposition of powerful incumbents of the fossil energy
system are good examples of this. Transitions are therefore always “intrinsically
social, full of uncertainties, ups and downs, twists and turns” and should best be
viewed as a dynamic, multidimensional, multi-actor and multilevel challenge that
cannot be planned and predicted in a linear manner (Grin et al. 2010: 6). In order to
get a grip on how to meet this challenge, the 2010 book provides some key
conceptual frameworks of the STRN community and I picked out the two most
popular ones to make my case. They seek to explain and improve understanding of
20
2 What Political Economy Adds to Transformation Research
Transition continue online at http://www.greattransition.org.
Please bear in mind that naturally I can only present selective reviews that are
mere snapshots of hundreds of pages. They will not do justice to the entire work but
instead provide an insight into the core concepts and basic assumptions underlying
these hallmark publications and their respective camps, at best triggering an
appetite for more.
2.1.1 Socio-technical Systems and Their Innovations
The goals of STS thinking as developed in the STRN community could be summarized as follows: how can we understand innovations systemically—and apply
this knowledge for sustainability purposes. It fits firmly into what I call the reflexive
ontology. The status quo of our world is viewed as a constant reproductive process
in which “internal dynamics, external influences and the resulting feedback loops
keep on rearranging the ordering” (Grin et al. 2010: 6). Technologies are therefore
not viewed in isolation but in conjunction with the social practices, norms, and
institutions that enable or hamper their use and influence choices between the
options on offer. Meanwhile, adopting certain technological solutions rather than
others will also influence which institution, infrastructures or business models seem
promising and sensible to make good use of.
The diversity of energy systems highlights these co-evolutionary properties. The
availability of resources on a particular territory and in geopolitical relations with
potential delivery partners will make some fuels and raw materials for harvesting
technologies more desirable then others. The availability of investments depends on
the desirability of proposed solutions, while existing market and ownership structures
will play an additional role in these judgments. Meanwhile, knowledge about the
negative pollution effects and risks of some fuels compared to others will impact
citizen opinions, while consumer acceptance of technological solutions depends on
consumer budgets and habits. Policymakers navigate this set of information and
preferences in order to shape governing solutions that find support from lobbyists and
voters—which will in turn impact geopolitical relations and investment expectations.
Breaking out of a particular system of energy supply therefore depends on changes in
all of these dimensions rather than only in the availability of alternative technologies.
The highly political battles over the ongoing renewable energy transition in
Germany and the fierce opposition of powerful incumbents of the fossil energy
system are good examples of this. Transitions are therefore always “intrinsically
social, full of uncertainties, ups and downs, twists and turns” and should best be
viewed as a dynamic, multidimensional, multi-actor and multilevel challenge that
cannot be planned and predicted in a linear manner (Grin et al. 2010: 6). In order to
get a grip on how to meet this challenge, the 2010 book provides some key
conceptual frameworks of the STRN community and I picked out the two most
popular ones to make my case. They seek to explain and improve understanding of
20
2 What Political Economy Adds to Transformation Research