Zukunftspolitiken

Daniel Buschmann
2015 unpublished
The presented thesis analyzes three internationally well established flagship reports on transformation towards sustainability. In doing so, the thesis adopts a qualitative document analysis. The aim of the investigation is to characterize the dominant transformation discourse by focussing on critical questions of power. Thereby the thesis tackles a current gap in political science literature, namely a critical transformation review. That is why the research question investigates in the
more » ... problem identifications of the three reports, aims to expatiate on them and discusses in how far they stabilize or transform existing relations of power. Hence the three reports are analyzed and compared along six analytical axes. The main result of the thesis is that the 'futuring politics' developed by the reports sustain the existing power relations. This is because of their focus on the transformation of energy regimes and other means of satisfying the current needs in affluent consumer societies instead of focussing on the transformation of infrastructures in production and consumption. Since all three reports concentrate on CO2 emissions as the core problem, their policy recommendations remain one-dimensional and intensify the existing market tools and technology innovation as means of sustainability. Because of these limitations, which the thesis elaborates on, the ambitious postulates of sustainabiliy begin to nurture doubts on whether they are at all to be achieved through the suggested means. These doubts are subject of a theory-guided discussion within this paper.
doi:10.25365/thesis.40612 fatcat:ozrnyzr7mbadxdexmc5yhrsycu