William M. Lafferty

Bio: William M. Lafferty is an academic researcher from University of Oslo. The author has contributed to research in topics: Sustainable development & Politics. The author has an hindex of 20, co-authored 35 publications receiving 2618 citations.

Environmental policy integration: towards an analytical framework

Abstract: Environmental policy integration (EPI) is a key defining feature of sustainable development. Despite the fact that EPI has been the subject of much debate both in academic and policy-making circles, conceptual issues relating to EPI have received relatively little treatment. The conceptual work that has been completed on EPI generally fails to place the concept in an appropriate environmental policy context, and this in turn appears to betray the fact that the concept clearly implies a relatively strong revision of the traditional hierarchy of policy objectives. In this article the authors discuss the origins of the concept and provide conceptual clarification regarding its definition and context. Further, the article derives a simple analytical framework consisting of vertical and horizontal dimensions of EPI, which can serve as a useful point of departure for further empirical work on the implementation of EPI.

Governance for Sustainable Development: The Challenge of Adapting Form to Function

Abstract: Contents: Preface 1. Introduction: Form and Function in Governance for Sustainable Development William M. Lafferty 2. Implementation Theory and the Challenge of Sustainable Development: The Transformative Role of Learning Laurence J. O'Toole, Jr 3. Adapting Form to Function? From Economic to Sustainable Development Governance in the European Union Elizabeth Bomberg 4. Management by Objectives: A Comparison of Dutch, Swedish and EU Strategies for Realising Sustainable Development Lennart J. Lundqvist 5. 'Sustainability is Cool': Rhetorical Participatory Discourse in the Spanish Strategy for Sustainable Development Susana Aguilar Fernandez 6. Participation and Sustainable Development: Modes of Citizen, Community and Organisational Involvement James Meadowcroft 7. From Environmental Protection to Sustainable Development: The Challenge of Decoupling through Sectoral Integration William M. Lafferty 8. Partners for Progress? The Role of Business in Transcending Business as Usual Audun Ruud 9. Governance by Diffusion: Implementing Global Norms through Cross-National Imitation and Learning Helge Joergens 10. Implementing Sustainable Development: How to Know What Works, Where, When and How Hans T.A. Bressers 11. Governance for Sustainable Development: Lessons and Implications William M. Lafferty Index

Governance for Sustainable Development

Abstract: This book is an original study of the challenge of implementing sustainable development in Western democracies. It highlights the obstacles which sustainable development presents for strategic governance and critically examines how these problems can best be overcome in a variety of different political contexts.

What about the politics? Sustainable development, transition management, and long term energy transitions

Abstract: This article is concerned with governance of long term socio-technical transitions required to orient development trajectories of advanced industrial counties along more sustainable lines. It discusses the contribution that ‘transition management’ can make to such processes, emphasizes the irreducibly political character of governance for sustainable development, and suggests that the long-term transformation of energy systems will prove to be a messy, conflictual, and highly disjointed process.

Participation: From Tyranny to Transformation: Exploring New Approaches to Participation in Development

Abstract: Participation is a popular approach to project implementation, policy-making and governance in both developing and developed countries. Recently, however, it has become fashionable to dismiss participation as more rhetoric than substance, and subject to manipulation by those intent on pursuing their own agendas under cover of community consent. This books seeks to rebut this simplistic conclusion. It describes and analyses new experiments in participation from a wide range of situations that show how, far from being a redundant and depoliticizing concept, participation can be linked to genuinely transformative processes and outcomes - provided that a political and not a technocratic approach is taken. It examines the recent convergence between participatory development and participatory governance, and the role of all the main actors - the state, civil society and donor agencies. It takes contemporary advances in development theory into account and proposes theoretical and practical ways forward.

Policy mixes for sustainability transitions: An extended concept and framework for analysis

Abstract: Reaching a better understanding of the policies and politics of transitions presents a main agenda item in the emerging field of sustainability transitions. One important requirement for these transitions, such as the move towards a decarbonized energy system, is the redirection and acceleration of technological change, for which policies play a key role. In this regard, several studies have argued for the need to combine different policy instruments in so-called policy mixes. However, existing policy mix studies often fall short of reflecting the complexity and dynamics of actual policy mixes, the underlying politics and the evaluation of their impacts. In this paper we take a first step towards an extended, interdisciplinary policy mix concept based on a review of the bodies of literature on innovation studies, environmental economics and policy analysis. The concept introduces a clear terminology and consists of the three building blocks elements, policy processes and characteristics, which can be delineated by several dimensions. Based on this, we discuss its application as analytical framework for empirical studies analyzing the impact of the policy mix on technological change. Throughout the paper we illustrate the proposed concept by using the example of the policy mix for fostering the transition of the German energy system to renewable power generation technologies. Finally, we derive policy implications and suggest avenues for future research.

Post-Materialism in an Environment of Insecurity

Abstract: This article tests the hypothesis that postwar affluence led to an intergenerational shift from Materialist to Post-Materialist values among Western publics, and analyzes the consequences of the economic uncertainty prevailing since 1973. The young emphasize Post-Materialist values more than the old. Time-series data indicate that this reflects generational change far more than aging effects, but that the recession of the mid-1970s also produced significant period effects. As Post-Materialists aged, they moved out of the student ghetto and became a predominant influence among young technocrats, contributing to the rise of a “New Class.” They furnish the ideologues and core support for the environmental, zero-growth and antinuclear movements; and their opposition to those who give top priority to reindustrialization and rearmament constitutes a distinctive and persisting dimension of political cleavage.

Engaging with the politics of sustainability transitions

Abstract: Although recent scholarship has contributed to our understanding of sustainability transitions, more needs to be done to grasp the politics of these processes. What works and what does not work is being sorted out in the world of practical politics. But social science could contribute by drawing lessons from political experience and offering theoretical insights.