The Dark Side of Transformation: Latent Risks in Contemporary Sustainability Discourse

TLDR

Transformation is increasingly central in sustainability debates, with new theories and practices opening imaginative spaces for radically different futures. The study examines how the academic concept of transformation is translated into normative policies and practices, and identifies five latent risks that arise when it is framed as apolitical or inevitable. We identify five latent risks—termed the dark side of transformation—associated with framing transformation as apolitical or inevitable. The authors conclude that, although future radical transformations cannot be predicted, stakeholders should consider them in more plural and political ways.

Abstract

Abstract The notion of transformation is gaining traction in contemporary sustainability debates. New ways of theorising and supporting transformations are emerging and, so the argument goes, opening exciting spaces to (re)imagine and (re)structure radically different futures. Yet, questions remain about how the term is being translated from an academic concept into an assemblage of normative policies and practices, and how this process might shape social, political, and environmental change. Motivated by these questions, we identify five latent risks associated with discourse that frames transformation as apolitical and/or inevitable. We refer to these risks as the dark side of transformation. While we cannot predict the future of radical transformations towards sustainability, we suggest that scientists, policymakers, and practitioners need to consider such change in more inherently plural and political ways.