Translating transformations: Illuminating the power dynamics that hinder transformation using empirically-based theoretically-informed tools

IPBES’s recent Transformative Change Assessment (TCA) identifies transformative change as the best way to address today’s overlapping global crises. However, as also identified in the TCA, unequal power relations continue to prevent the kinds of bold, paradigm-shifting solutions that are needed. These power relations must be made visible before they can be addressed, yet the most influential and harmful forms of power are often hidden by apolitical and technocratic styles of governance. Critical social sciences (i.e. those that tackle fundamental questions about power dynamics in societies), have long examined how capitalist and colonial systems shape environmental management and embed power in everyday decision-making. But even with this rich body of work, differences in ways of knowing and communicating can make it difficult to clearly convey how power operates. As a result, important insights about power are often “lost in translation.”

This communication gap limits efforts to tackle the power relations that drive both knowledge-related (epistemic) and material injustices, and it also weakens attempts to advance transformative change. In contrast, natural scientists have a wide range of “science literacy tools” that help them explain complex ideas. Yet there appear to be no equivalent tools designed to support communication across different disciplines and knowledge systems about power and its effects.

In this talk, I present a project that aims to fill this gap by creating “critical social science literacy tools” that help make hidden power dynamics easier to understand and discuss. The project builds on an ex-post analysis of two Swiss-based environmental programs. Using data from questionnaires and interviews, we identified key areas where there seemed to be confusion or lack of understanding about how power works. We then co-designed a series of open access tools based on these findings and tested them in workshops with practitioners, researchers, and educators. The goal is to support critical social scientists in teaching about power, and to help transformative change initiatives embed these concepts into their strategies and solutions. Ultimately, the project seeks to strengthen ongoing efforts to address power relations towards more just and transformative futures.