decide to deal with the landscape-developments that they observe but cannot
change through direct action in the short term. Their most important role, however,
lies in providing the new imaginary and binding narratives necessary to ignite
change initiatives and galvanize support for them.
Charlie Leadbeater, a UK-based system innovator connected with the innovation
foundation Nesta, presented a list of ingredients for successful sustainability
transformations that embeds this view nicely. He makes reference to the MLP when
considering five successive features of successful regime transformation.
The following is my summary:
1. Failures and frustrations with the current system multiply as negative consequences become increasingly visible. This is inherent in the sustainability
discourse.
2. The landscape on which the regime operates shifts as new long-term trends
emerge or sudden events drastically impact the general availability or persuasiveness of particular solutions. This could be peak oil signaling an approaching
end to fossil fuel availability.
3. Niche alternatives start to develop and gain momentum, coalitions start forming
and coalesce around the principles of a new approach. Local Agenda 21, for
example, was a program emerging from the UN Conference on Environment
and Development in 1992, in which many local initiatives for implementation
were linked into a network.
4. New technologies give impetus to alternative solutions, either in the form of
alternative products or communication and connection possibilities. Renewable
energy solutions especially, but also information technologies, form part of
many sustainability projects.
5. For far-reaching regime change rather than small adaptations and cooptation
into the old regime, dissent and therefore fissures inside the regime itself are
key. Possibly called ‘niches’ within the regime, by joining coalitions for change
they will help bring the system down (Leadbeater/Mulgan 2013: 31–32).
A core functional ingredient in this sequence is the ‘new approach’ mentioned in
point 3, the new principles. In Leadbeater’s example they are the principles agreed
in the 1992 Rio Declaration on Sustainable Development. They provide the radical
vision for a repurposed development system and inspire niche initiatives with the
goal of putting the declaration into practice. As some of the quotes in the introduction showed, the Agenda 21 vision foresaw very radical institutional changes,
and many different groups started experimenting with new ways of bringing them to
life. The discussion of path dependencies in this chapter has provided some good
insights into why these processes were not easy and were subsequently sometimes
discontinued or explicitly opposed.
Writing in 2013, Leadbeater however declares that tipping points have been
reached in some aspects like the energy systems, especially on the local level. Not
many make explicit reference to Agenda 21 anymore, but new narratives like
Transition Towns or 100 % renewable communities, etc., have gained more
48
2 What Political Economy Adds to Transformation Research
change through direct action in the short term. Their most important role, however,
lies in providing the new imaginary and binding narratives necessary to ignite
change initiatives and galvanize support for them.
Charlie Leadbeater, a UK-based system innovator connected with the innovation
foundation Nesta, presented a list of ingredients for successful sustainability
transformations that embeds this view nicely. He makes reference to the MLP when
considering five successive features of successful regime transformation.
The following is my summary:
1. Failures and frustrations with the current system multiply as negative consequences become increasingly visible. This is inherent in the sustainability
discourse.
2. The landscape on which the regime operates shifts as new long-term trends
emerge or sudden events drastically impact the general availability or persuasiveness of particular solutions. This could be peak oil signaling an approaching
end to fossil fuel availability.
3. Niche alternatives start to develop and gain momentum, coalitions start forming
and coalesce around the principles of a new approach. Local Agenda 21, for
example, was a program emerging from the UN Conference on Environment
and Development in 1992, in which many local initiatives for implementation
were linked into a network.
4. New technologies give impetus to alternative solutions, either in the form of
alternative products or communication and connection possibilities. Renewable
energy solutions especially, but also information technologies, form part of
many sustainability projects.
5. For far-reaching regime change rather than small adaptations and cooptation
into the old regime, dissent and therefore fissures inside the regime itself are
key. Possibly called ‘niches’ within the regime, by joining coalitions for change
they will help bring the system down (Leadbeater/Mulgan 2013: 31–32).
A core functional ingredient in this sequence is the ‘new approach’ mentioned in
point 3, the new principles. In Leadbeater’s example they are the principles agreed
in the 1992 Rio Declaration on Sustainable Development. They provide the radical
vision for a repurposed development system and inspire niche initiatives with the
goal of putting the declaration into practice. As some of the quotes in the introduction showed, the Agenda 21 vision foresaw very radical institutional changes,
and many different groups started experimenting with new ways of bringing them to
life. The discussion of path dependencies in this chapter has provided some good
insights into why these processes were not easy and were subsequently sometimes
discontinued or explicitly opposed.
Writing in 2013, Leadbeater however declares that tipping points have been
reached in some aspects like the energy systems, especially on the local level. Not
many make explicit reference to Agenda 21 anymore, but new narratives like
Transition Towns or 100 % renewable communities, etc., have gained more
48
2 What Political Economy Adds to Transformation Research