Tracing Sustainability Transformations and Drivers of Green Economy Approaches in the Global South

This article provides the introduction to a special issue on Green Economies in the Global South, that sheds light on the causes, complexities, consequences, and different practices of state engagement regarding national-level transitions from business as usual toward integrated economic, ecological, and social policies. Empirically, the special issue comprises four additional papers that open the black box of the state with a focus on state-society relations and the management of trade-offs in the fields of energy and land use politics in developing countries. This introduction guides these country cases with an analytical outline that builds on two specific sets of research questions: (a) Which change agents do have an impact on national politics, and why? What is the particular role of the state in developing and implementing Green Economy policies? (b) Which trade-offs and tensions occur between and within the economic, ecological, and social dimensions of a Green Economy approach? How are they addressed, by whom, and with which consequences?