Translocal empowerment in transformative social innovation networks

This paper contributes to public and academic discussions on empowerment and social innovation by conceptualizing the mechanisms of empowerment from a social psychology perspective, and empirically exploring how people are empowered through both local and transnational linkages, i.e. translocal netw...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:European planning studies 2020-05, Vol.28 (5), p.955-977
Main Authors: Avelino, Flor, Dumitru, Adina, Cipolla, Carla, Kunze, Iris, Wittmayer, Julia
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Concept formation
Empirical analysis
Empowerment
Food
Innovations
Intrinsic motivation
Motivation
Networking
Networks
Psychology
Self determination
Social change
Social innovation
Social interactions
Social networks
Social organization
Social psychology
translocal networks
Transnationalism
Zooming
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Summary:This paper contributes to public and academic discussions on empowerment and social innovation by conceptualizing the mechanisms of empowerment from a social psychology perspective, and empirically exploring how people are empowered through both local and transnational linkages, i.e. translocal networks. Section 2 conceptualizes empowerment as the process through which actors gain the capacity to mobilize resources to achieve a goal, building on different power theories in relation to social change, combined with self-determination theory and intrinsic motivation research. Based on that conceptualization, empirical questions are formulated to be asked about cases under study. Section 3 then provides an empirical analysis of translocal networks that work with social innovation both at the global and local level. A total of five networks are analyzed: FEBEA, DESIS, the Global Ecovillage Network, Impact Hub and Slow Food. The embedded cases-study approach allows an exploration of how people are empowered through the transnational networking while also zooming in on the dynamics in local initiatives. In the final section, conceptual and empirical insights are synthesized into a characterization of the mechanisms of translocal empowerment, and challenges for future research are formulated.
ISSN:0965-4313
1469-5944
DOI:10.1080/09654313.2019.1578339