ABSTRACT
Governance approaches in the sustainability transitions literature portray societal transitions as purposefully pursued revolutions. Critiques of these approaches are sceptical about the potentials of steering these transformations and perceive them as social evolution processes. This chapter argues that governance can assume the form of purposeful coordination (revolution) as well as self-governance (evolution). The empirical exploration of two urban energy transition processes shows that both forms of governance become manifest in sustainability transitions and allow for coordinating the interplay of different actors in these transformation processes. While governance approaches tend to stress the need for purposeful coordination, the study illustrates the self-governing capacities of transitions, substituting active efforts of managing transformation processes.
