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Between hope, hype, and hell: electric mobility and the interplay of fear and desire in sustainability transitions

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Version 2 2023-06-12, 09:23
Version 1 2023-06-09, 20:43
journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-12, 09:23 authored by Johannes Kester, Benjamin SovacoolBenjamin Sovacool, Lance Noel, Gerardo Zarazua de Rubens
Conceptualizations and articulations of ‘the future’ play a persistent and important role in discussions about technology adoption and the broader domain of sustainability transitions. The Sociology of Expectations, part of the transitions and science and technology studies literature, specifically focusses on the performative role that desirable expectations play in the development and marketing of a technology. In this paper we argue that these insights can be coupled with the performative role of undesirable futures, as outlined by Critical Security Studies. Based on a qualitative diffractive reading of these twin literatures we argue that the performativity around desired and undesired futures, while closely related, constitutes two separate logics. A focus on expectations alone does not explain the initiation and subsequent success of a sustainable innovation nor that a focus on undesired futures fully explains the acceptance of security claims. The paper exemplifies these insights with a reflection on electric vehicle development.

History

Publication status

  • Published

File Version

  • Published version

Journal

Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions

ISSN

2210-4224

Publisher

Elsevier

Volume

35

Page range

88-102

Department affiliated with

  • SPRU - Science Policy Research Unit Publications

Full text available

  • No

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2020-02-26

First Open Access (FOA) Date

2020-04-16

First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date

2020-02-25

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