A plea for dystopias: towards radical reflections in sustainability transitions

In transition processes and practices in general, and in transition management in particular, developing a vision of sustainable development is a core activity. In this paper we explore the role of dystopia’s (undesirable futures) vis-a-vis utopia’s (desirable futures) in change processes aiming for sustainability. Even though both utopias and dystopias are crucial in legitimizing transitions, they seem to be investigated relatively meagre. Both utopias and dystopias contain mobilizing forces, through images of e.g. a ‘green’, ‘sustainable’ and ‘eco-friendly’ future (utopias) or visions of an ‘unsustainable future’, ‘more neoliberalism’ and ‘eco-fascism’ (dystopias). As such, dystopias, as well as utopias, can be politically and/or strategically deployed to force certain breakthroughs towards a more sustainable society. In this paper we investigate how dystopias operate in transitions, and their management. Dystopias, in fact, have multiple roles in transition processes and practices. They might operate in direct relation to utopias in legitimating ´transition narratives´. We, however, would like to focus on how dystopias are and might be employed as ‘reflexive reflexes’ in the visioning phase of transition management. That is to say, with every new vision (‘utopia’) that is being developed, at least one opposing and possible dystopia can or should be articulated. As such, ‘counter forces’ can be included in the process of envisioning, rendering visible undesired effects and space to explore possibilities to anticipate on undesired effects. A systematic and reflexive understanding of dystopias in transitions, contributes to some of the pertinent political challenges embedded in transitions and transition management. Examples of such a reflexive reflex could be questions considering a desired shift from current large-scale agricultural production practices to agro-parks in which water, energy and nutrient cycles are designed to be closed loops: but , could this actually make an essentially unsustainable system more robust? Will the ‘closing of loops’ not precisely lead to inertia, as ´closing’ implies a decrease of adaptive capacities? Does this make an even more desired future less likely in which agriculture is local and based on vegetable proteins? We will first review how transition studies actually understand the role of utopias and dystopias – in relation to the ‘politics of reflections’ - in processes and practices of transition management (e.g. Hendriks and Grin, 2007). We then review how other fields and disciplines address and understand the role of utopias and dystopias in processes and practices (e.g. mobilizing forces) around radical change, e.g. science fiction, feminist writings, critical sociology and political theory. This offers fruitful ground to further conceptualize the role of dystopias in transitions and transition management. Empirically, we will reconstruct the Dutch energy transition which started in the last decade in the Netherlands, as a case, in two ways: (1) from a more ‘traditional’ transition management perspective (Grin, 2010); and (2) using thought experiments that explicitly focus on how dystopias might or might have change(d) substantive outcomes and (other) political aspects. Comparing these two reconstructions will highlight the importance and further shape our understanding of dystopias in (managing) transitions. Dystopias, we argue, can be utilized and developed as a reflexive tool to prevent the emergence of unwanted and unforeseen problems associated with sustainable-led visions and utopias. ‘Accepting’ dystopias has the potential to increase the legitimacy of transition management, as well as to constantly politicize alternative (sustainable) visions and utopias.