مقاله سال ۲۰۱۷

Clean energy is the new ‘space race’. In his 2011 State of the Union address, Barack Obama recalled the American economic and technological competitiveness of the post-war era to justify an ambitious recovery plan in response to the threatening recession caused by the 2008–۲۰۰۹ economic crisis. In alluding to the strategic public funding that had been provided for space-based research and development – when the ‘science wasn’t even there yet’ – and which had lain the seeds for ‘new industries and millions of new jobs’, President Obama added credibility to a foreseen yet abstract future.

This historical metaphor actualizes a policy interpretation ofthe new challenges that today’s regions and nations face in regard to their future economic development. Not only does it motivate a ‘Green New Deal’ meant to stimulate employment and economic ∗ Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: ariane.huguenin@unine.ch (A. Huguenin), hugues.jeannerat@unine.ch (H. Jeannerat). growth through public spending on eco-energy, it also views the competitive renewal of industrialized countries within the frame of a new global race for scientific discovery and cutting-edge technologies. More generally, this narrative is emblematic of current science, technology and innovation (STI) policies, which usually support research and development (R&D) through strategic public procurement, fundamental research funding and technology transfer at the nexus of science and industry.

In the past few years, conventional STI policies have been subjected to various critiques. It has been argued, for instance, that the ‘Grand Challenges’ posed by a transition to new sustainable ways of producing, consuming and living reach far beyond a ‘space race’ approach to innovation (Kuhlmann and Rip, 2014; Kallerud et al., 2013). At the crossroads of innovation and transition studies, various conceptual broadenings have been proposed to tackle the complex, multi-dimensional and multi-level dynamics of innovation at stake in the transformation of the economy and society towards new socio-technical regimes of sustainable development. This paper argues that the question of innovation generally structures the question of sustainability transition policies today. New conceptual broadenings have proposed alternatives to conventional R&D policies, but, while it is widely recognized that the concept of innovation must be redefined, the concept itself is nonetheless accepted as an appropriate frame of interpretation.