ABSTRACT
Given the scale of change associated with socio-technical transitions theory, deep attention has to be given to civil society roles in these transitions, both empirically and in theorizing. What visions do civil associations hold, and what roles do they play in transitions processes? Where, when and why do their activities matter? What kinds of policy support might help civil associations play a more effective and legitimate role in the development of new, more sustainable energy systems? In addition to transitions viewed variously as something done to communities, analysis needs also to scrutinize transition processes that emerge from civil society, the ways civil society responds to the disruptions of transition, and deliberate what this means for policy, for business and for civil associations. The purpose in this chapter is to begin to relate civil society activities in sustainable energy to socio-technical transitions theory.
