Toward systematic understandings of sustainability governance. A conceptual meta-framework

Over the last few years, there has been a diversification of conceptual understandings of sustainability governance (SG). This conceptual diversity corresponds to the variety and complexity of both sustainability challenges and governing contexts. However, the SG discourse risks drifting into a conceptual “anything goes”, which might impair the analytical usefulness and practical effectiveness of SG. To address these problems, the authors attempt to establish a common ground for SG discourse by suggesting a meta-framework that embraces diversity, but defines a rationale for systematic SG understandings. Based on the authors’ reconstruction of the basic epistemic building blocks of the existing discourse, this meta-framework is shown to consist of five steps: (1) deployment of an analytical governance perspective; (2) normative justification in light of sustainability; (3) empirical specifications with regard to subject fields; (4) functional validations based on theoretical approaches; and (5) strategic considerations in view of practical settings. This framework is expected to facilitate a more reflective discourse and more effective practice of sustainability governance.