Second major transformation

The project, funded as preliminary research by the SMWK, investigates the social content, but above all the political forms and governance opportunities at global, national and local level for a "second great transformation", i.e. the radical change from industrially based growth and externalization societies to post-industrial and post-growth societies.

The scientific problem being addressed is the completely unresolved question of the modes and forms of transition from industrial-based growth societies to post-industrial-based post-growth societies at global, national and local level. This is of great scientific and socio-practical relevance - also at the level of regional and local actors and their policies in the coming decades.

Central problems are the question of how to democratically shape the transition, the significance of social innovations at local and regional level and the steering capacities of different forms of governance. To this end, comparisons will be made with other historical and contemporary transformation processes (especially post-socialism). The analysis serves to theoretically and conceptually substantiate a research design that is to be included in an application for third-party funding.