Localization as subpolitics: The Transition Movement and cultural citizenship

Abstract

This article seeks to critically debate the subpolitical potential of the Transition Movement. As a relatively new social movement the Transition Movement seeks to promote a genuinely engaged form of citizenship from below. This is a radical social movement that is at odds with the current neoliberal consensus. Here I look at the key aims and intellectuals associated with the movement and seek to review the idea of localization in the context of the critical literature on globalization. However by engaging in ideas of cultural citizenship and, most crucially, critical pedagogy I seek to draw attention to both the positive and negative features of the movement. In particular I review the effectiveness of the Transition Movement through notions of cultural democracy and consider the extent to which it is able to promote critical border crossing.

An agenda for sustainability transitions research: State of the art and future directions

“…These protective spaces are often anchored in CSOs such as community organizations, but researchers, local governments, and entrepreneurs can also play a significant role. A substantial strand of the literature on reform-based movements anchored in CSOs examines innovation in "energy communities" (Dóci et al, 2015;Seyfang et al, 2014;Seyfang and Haxeltine, 2012;Heiskanen et al, 2015) such as the UK transition town movement (Stevenson, 2011). An important dynamic for grassroots innovation is the relationship with regime organizations that may attempt to circumscribe the grassroots innovations in a "fit and conform" pattern that modifies design innovations while incorporating them into the regime (Hess, 2016a;Pel, 2016;Smith and Raven, 2012).…”

Transition Initiatives as Light Intentional Communities: Uncovering Liminality and Friction

“…This group can be characterized as being middle-class, somewhat above average standards of wealth (though there is some diversity), and highly educated (university level on average). These demographics correspond with earlier findings on the demographics of individuals participating in the Transition movement [14,15,35] (see Grossman and Creamer [36] for an assessment of diversity and inclusivity in the Transition movement). The individuals participating in the research project participate in TTL mainly through activities and meetings organized by the different subgroups.…”

Entertaining our way to engagement? Climate change films and sustainable development values

“…Consumption of climate change narratives helps shape our sense of belonging, where knowledge of self and other infuse our participation as citizens. Climate change stories feed the production of culture in which we respond as citizens (Stevenson, 2011). If we do not attend to these constructions, we cannot intervene to identify problematic representations that restrict the realisation of sustainable development goals, which are inextricably tied to culture through "narratively contested accounts" that emerge at sites of tension and struggle [Benhabib, (2002), p.viii].…”