Transition management for sustainable development

The idea of sustainable development is often referred to in the public forum, however this does not necessarily mean that it is also widely accepted as a living philosophy, nor that it has come to be embodied in public policy. Consequently, there is a need to precisely examine the problems brought about by the economic mechanisms standing in the way of this goal—in particular globalization—and to draw up plans to counteract these influences. In the meantime, sustainability transitions do require a series of system innovations and transitions, and it is important to foster robust environmental governance for sustainable development. This book aims firstly to examine the implications of the idea of sustainable development for institutional and policy designs. Secondly, it aims to clarify the political, social and economic conditions for successful sustainability transitions, by means of the detailed empirical analysis of a host of challenging social experiments for sustainable development. Finally, it searches for, and formulates, a viable theory of transition management for sustainable development.