Consensus Building and Sustainability Transition (2023)
Spring Semester, Wednesdays 13:30-15:10 Room 310H
The course deals with two essential themes in policy-making processes: consensus building and sustainability transition.
Consensus building is an integral part of policy-making in any part of the world. Through community meetings, policy-makers need to negotiate and reach an agreement with a wide variety of stakeholders in order to implement their proposals. Other modes of public engagement for deliberative democracy have been explored in recent years as well. For example, Climate Assemblies organized in different parts of Europe convene randomly sampled citizens and ask them to deliberate on climate policy in a “minipublics” format.
In addition, the sustainability transition (transformation) has become a critical issue in the face of climate change worldwide. For example, the transition from internal combustion engines to battery electric vehicles has to be accelerated in developed nations to meet the mandates. The theory and practice of transition management seek to accelerate sustainability transition by strategically promoting frontrunners and softening the incumbent regimes.
This course will review theories of public participation and democratic engagements and provide practical instructions for designing processes for negotiation, deliberation, or sustainability transition. The course aims to nurture students' skills in designing and managing appropriate public participation and transition processes in different settings.
Textbook (TBD)
Course schedule (TBD)