Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

The Role of Global Actors in Sustainability Transitions – Tracing the Emergence of a Novel Infrastructure Paradigm in the Sanitation Sector

Lesch, Djamila ; Miörner, Johan LU and Binz, Christian LU (2023) In Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions 49.
Abstract

The literature on sustainability transitions increasingly recognizes that sectoral structures transcending national boundaries can both hinder and promote sustainability transitions. Yet there is only limited evidence on the roles of global actors in transforming entrenched socio-technical structures directly at the global scale. To explore the mechanisms of agency at the global scale, we develop a conceptual framework and illustrate it with a case study of the World Bank's engagement in the sanitation sector. Based on a Socio-Technical Configuration Analysis of World Bank project documents combined with expert interviews, we demonstrate how a paradigm shift in the global sanitation sector was initiated by a coalition of global... (More)

The literature on sustainability transitions increasingly recognizes that sectoral structures transcending national boundaries can both hinder and promote sustainability transitions. Yet there is only limited evidence on the roles of global actors in transforming entrenched socio-technical structures directly at the global scale. To explore the mechanisms of agency at the global scale, we develop a conceptual framework and illustrate it with a case study of the World Bank's engagement in the sanitation sector. Based on a Socio-Technical Configuration Analysis of World Bank project documents combined with expert interviews, we demonstrate how a paradigm shift in the global sanitation sector was initiated by a coalition of global advocates and subsequently promoted by the World Bank in its role as an amplifier. The paper thus further conceptualizes and illustrates a multi-scalar transition trajectory that depends strongly on advocacy by global actors.

(Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Citywide Inclusive Sanitation, Distributed Agency, Geography of Sustainability Transitions, Multi-Scalar Transitions, Socio-Technical Configuration Analysis
in
Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions
volume
49
article number
100787
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • scopus:85178207727
ISSN
2210-4224
DOI
10.1016/j.eist.2023.100787
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
4b90e7af-8fea-498f-b671-044ad1ab7f12
date added to LUP
2023-12-20 15:25:42
date last changed
2024-01-19 01:19:50
@article{4b90e7af-8fea-498f-b671-044ad1ab7f12,
  abstract     = {{<p>The literature on sustainability transitions increasingly recognizes that sectoral structures transcending national boundaries can both hinder and promote sustainability transitions. Yet there is only limited evidence on the roles of global actors in transforming entrenched socio-technical structures directly at the global scale. To explore the mechanisms of agency at the global scale, we develop a conceptual framework and illustrate it with a case study of the World Bank's engagement in the sanitation sector. Based on a Socio-Technical Configuration Analysis of World Bank project documents combined with expert interviews, we demonstrate how a paradigm shift in the global sanitation sector was initiated by a coalition of global advocates and subsequently promoted by the World Bank in its role as an amplifier. The paper thus further conceptualizes and illustrates a multi-scalar transition trajectory that depends strongly on advocacy by global actors.</p>}},
  author       = {{Lesch, Djamila and Miörner, Johan and Binz, Christian}},
  issn         = {{2210-4224}},
  keywords     = {{Citywide Inclusive Sanitation; Distributed Agency; Geography of Sustainability Transitions; Multi-Scalar Transitions; Socio-Technical Configuration Analysis}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions}},
  title        = {{The Role of Global Actors in Sustainability Transitions – Tracing the Emergence of a Novel Infrastructure Paradigm in the Sanitation Sector}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.eist.2023.100787}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.eist.2023.100787}},
  volume       = {{49}},
  year         = {{2023}},
}