The Politics Of Green Transformations

Abstract

Political analysis is required to understand how modes of governing, deliberating and participating can be adapted to help address the challenges thrown up by green transformations. The contribution of a political analysis of green transformations helps to clarify the trade-offs, highlighting the distributional implications and enabling engagement and support for transformations that seem to be more &s;just&s;, &s;equitable&s;, &s;inclusive&s; and &s;democratic&s;, and consequently sustainable. There are a variety of states with different financial, bureaucratic and technological capacities, and different possibilities of state-led or guided transformations. A confluence of financial and ecological crises, in particular, have raised issues about the ecological, social and economic sustainability of the global economy, and the extent to which people have the sorts of political institutions able to contain crises and steer positive and progressive change. This has prompted calls for a new green industrial revolution, transitions to a low-carbon economy, or for radical restructuring for degrowth or the pursuit of prosperity without growth.