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A winding road Transition management, policy change and the search for sustainable development Erik Paredis Examencommissie Prof. Dr. Dries Lesage, Universiteit Gent (promotor) Prof. Dr. John Grin, Universiteit van Amsterdam (co-promotor) Prof. Dr. Thomas Block, Universiteit Gent (co-promotor) Prof. Dr. Hans Bruyninckx, Universiteit Leuven Prof. Dr. Filip De Rynck, Hogeschool Gent Prof. Dr. Kristof Steyvers, Universiteit Gent Dr. Thijs Van De Graaf, Universiteit Gent ii Universiteit Gent Faculteit Politieke en Sociale Wetenschappen Vakgroep Politieke Wetenschappen A winding road Transition management, policy change and the search for sustainable development Proefschrift ingediend tot het behalen van de graad Doctor in de Politieke Wetenschappen Erik Paredis Academiejaar 2012-2013 Promotor: Prof. Dr. Dries Lesage, Universiteit Gent Co-promotor: Prof. Dr. John Grin, Universiteit van Amsterdam Co-promotor: Prof. Dr. Thomas Block, Universiteit Gent iii iv Contents List of figures, tables and context boxes x List of abbreviations xii Preface xv CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND TRANSITIONS. 1 1.1. Transitions and sustainable development: a simultaneously vague and specific relation 4 1.1.1. Sustainable development in plural 4 1.1.2. The dual relation between transitions and sustainable development 8 1.2. The politics and policy of transitions 10 1.3. Research questions and structure of the thesis 12 CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEW AND ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK 16 2.1. Analysing and understanding transitions 17 2.1.1. Common conceptual notions 17 2.1.2. The multi-level perspective 19 2.2. The governance of transitions: different approaches 23 2.3. Transition management 25 2.3.1. From principles to operationalisation 27 2.3.2. Transition management and regular policy 32 2.4. Debating the theory and practice of transition management 35 2.4.1. The relevance of a bold new approach 36 2.4.2. The experiences of the Dutch energy transition 39 Closely involved researchers 40 Outsider views 41 2.4.3. The politics of transition management 43 A problematic implicit model of politics? 44 Adapting or complementing transition management? 46 2.5. A framework for analysing transition management’s influence on regular policy 48 2.5.1. The MLP and policy dynamics 49 2.5.2. Policy arrangements to conceptualise politics and policy innovation 50 The policy arrangements approach 50 v Combining MLP and PAA 54 2.5.3. Transition management in the analytical framework 57 CHAPTER 3. RESEARCH DESIGN 60 3.1. Interpretive research design: on ontology, epistemology and knowledge claims 60 3.1.1. Making positions explicit 60 3.1.2. Grounding knowledge claims 62 3.2. Methodological choices 65 3.2.1. Context of the empirical research 65 3.2.2. Case study approach 67 3.2.3. Data collection 69 Semi-structured interviews 69 Participant observation 71 Documents produced in cases 72 Secondary literature, policy documents and legal texts 72 Participant feedback 72 3.2.4. Data analysis 73 Sub-question 2 73 Sub-question 3 74 3.3. The role of an engaged researcher and critical policy analysis 75 Annex to chapter 3. List of interviews 79 CHAPTER 4. TRANSITION MANAGEMENT IN FLEMISH WASTE AND MATERIALS POLICY. THE ROLE AND EXPERIENCES OF PLAN C. 82 4.1 The Flemish waste system until 2005 83 4.1.1. 1980s till mid 1990s: from waste removal to early steps in selective collection and recycling 84 4.1.2. Since the mid 1990s: further reorienting the system on the basis of the waste hierarchy 89 4.1.3. The waste regime and its policy arrangement 95 The birth of the modern waste regime 95 Discourse 97 Rules 98 Actors 100 Resources 101 4.2. The transition management process Plan C: history and characteristics 102 4.2.1. The coupling of policy evolutions: how and why Plan C was introduced 102 4.2.2. Plan C between 2006 and early 2012 107 Phase 1: The transition arena Plan C, June 2006 – May 2007 108 Phase 2: Broadening and deepening Plan C, May 2007 – May 2008 111 Phase 3: Going public and defining a business plan, May 2008 – early 2009 113 vi Phase 4: Desperately trying to keep developing, early 2009 – early 2012 114 4.2.3. The characteristics of Plan C as a policy niche 123 Discourse 124 Actors 126 Rules of the game 130 Resources 133 4.3. From a waste regime towards a materials regime? 137 4.3.1. The waste regime under pressure: driving forces for change 138 Landscape pressures or processes of structural transformation 138 Regime tensions 141 Niche developments 142 4.3.2. The birth of a sustainable materials regime in Flanders? 143 Evolutions in discourse 143 Evolutions in actor configurations 147 Evolutions in resources 152 Evolutions in rules 154 4.4. Interim conclusions 158 CHAPTER 5. TRANSITION MANAGEMENT IN FLEMISH HOUSING AND BUILDING. THE ROLE AND EXPERIENCES OF DUWOBO. 161 5.1. A brief history of Flemish housing and building before 2004 162 5.1.1. The foundations: anti-urban policies from the 19 th century onwards 162 5.1.2. After the second World War: expansion, spatial chaos and economic weight 164 5.1.3. Social, environmental and cultural aspects of housing and building in Flanders 169 5.1.4. A slowly growing niche of more sustainable housing and building practices, and some policy support 173 5.1.5. The housing and building regime and its policy arrangement 175 Evolutions shaping the housing and building regime 176 Discourse 178 Actors 180 Rules 182 Resources 185 5.2. The transition management process DuWoBo: history and characteristics 186 5.2.1. The coupling of policy evolutions: how and why DuWoBo was introduced 187 5.2.2. The DuWoBo-process between 2004 and early 2012 190 Phase 1. Problem analysis and transition vision, October 2004 – December 2005 190 Phase 2. Towards transition paths and experiments, January 2006 – December 2006 195 vii Phase 3. Trying to realise the transition agenda, January 2007 – Spring 2009 198 Phase 4. Quest for influence under DAR, Spring 2009 – early 2012 201 5.2.3. DuWoBo seen through the policy arrangement lens 209 Discourse 209 Actors 211 Rules of the game 213 Resources 215 5.3. Current evolutions in housing and building: the take-off stage of a transition? 217 5.3.1. The housing and building regime under pressure 219 Energy as driving force 219 Evolutions in materials 222 Evolutions in spatial planning 224 Evolutions in housing 226 Evolutions in socio-economic innovation policy 229 5.3.2. Summarizing through the lenses of MLP and policy arrangements 230 5.4. Interim conclusions 234 CHAPTER 6. THE ROLE OF TRANSITION MANAGEMENT IN POLICY CHANGE 237 6.1. Characterising TM-in-practice as a form of policy innovation 239 6.1.1. Embedment of Plan C in a changing policy regime 240 6.1.2. DuWoBo as an autonomous policy arrangement in a fragmented regime 242 6.1.3. Different forms of policy innovation. And one more important evolution 243 6.2. The hard work of policy renewal: policy entrepreneurs searching for couplings 245 6.2.1. Multiple streams at work during policy formation 246 6.2.2. Episode one. Transition management becomes a new policy approach in Flanders 250 6.2.3. Episode two. Plan C and the change from a Flemish waste regime to a materials regime 256 6.2.4. Episode three. Transition management breaks through in the hard core of policy, ‘Flanders in Action’ (ViA) 260 6.3. Transition management as a form of discursive politics 264 6.3.1. Analysing the role of ideas 265 6.3.2. The role of discourse for the establishment of TM 266 Discourse structuration 266 Discourse institutionalisation 267 viii 6.3.3. The role of discourse during institutionalisation of DuWoBo and Plan C 267 Discourse structuration 267 Discourse institutionalisation 271 6.3.4. The role of discourse when DuWoBo and Plan C gain wider influence 271 Discourse structuration 271 Discourse institutionalisation 274 6.4. New political spaces between new rules and prevailing modes of policy- making 276 6.4.1. Institutional voids and new political spaces 277 6.4.2. The establishment of DuWoBo and Plan C: filling in an institutional void 278 6.4.3. Institutionalising the policy niches: grappling with new rules 279 6.4.4. Gaining wider influence: new political spaces collide with the real world 282 6.5. Transition management and the balance of power 283 6.5.1. Power in different layers 283 6.5.2. Power and the establishment of TM policy niches 286 6.5.3. Power during the institutionalisation of the policy niches 287 6.5.4. Power at work when gaining wider influence 289 6.6. Comparison with the literature and interim conclusions 291 CHAPTER 7. CONCLUSIONS 295 7.1. Analytical framework: strengths and weaknesses 296 7.2. TM-policy niches versus regular policy 298 7.2.1. Waste and materials policy and Plan C 299 7.2.2. Housing and building policy and DuWoBo 301 7.3. Explaining policy change and the role of transition management 302 7.3.1. Three key processes and different forms of policy change 302 7.3.2. No change without coupling 303 7.3.3. Discourse is important for policy change 306 7.3.4. A difficult time for new rules 308 7.3.5. Tipping the balance of power requires more than TM 309 7.3.6. Wrapping up 310 7.4. Contributions to transition studies 312 7.5. Contributions to the policy sciences 315 7.6. Policy recommendations 317 7.7. Suggestions for further research 319 REFERENCES 321 About the author 337 ix LIST OF FIGURES, TABLES AND CONTEXT BOXES Figures 1.1.