Introduction to part IV

Helene Balslev Clausen, Jan Vang, Annalisa Brambini, Donato Masi and Amanda Bille

A chapter in Handbook of Grand Challenges in Global Production and Innovation Networks, 2025, pp 254-255 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: Part IV of this Handbook explores the critical perspectives on sustainability, grand challenges, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Contributions from critical theorists emphasize that sustainability and related concepts should not be taken at face value. They unpack issues not addressed by other theories, such as the McDonaldization of the SDGs, the need for pursuing degrowth strategies, and problematic omissions of global value chain analysis. A main point is that integrating themes from critical scholarship can enrich dominant theories. The notion of global production and innovation networks is presented as a sufficiently inclusive framework to facilitate dialogue between mainstream and critical scholars, paving the way for new and critical insights. To foster this dialogue, the book's concluding section applies a critical lens to these issues, mobilizing scholars from critical traditions to share their insights. This approach challenges readers and encourages them to move beyond their comfort zones, provoking deeper thought. The chapters are more essayistic in nature, aiming to stimulate, provoke, and engage the readers. They may be uncomfortable to read, as they question the foundations of mainstream literature by illustrating, for example, how the SDGs have become commodified and explaining the necessity of degrowth in light of the global challenges the world is facing.

Keywords: Sustainability; Critical theory; Global production networks; Grand challenges; SDGs (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
ISBN: 9781035346509
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.elgaronline.com/doi/10.4337/9781035346516.00028 (application/pdf)
Our link check indicates that this URL is bad, the error code is: 403 Forbidden

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:elg:eechap:23934_17

Ordering information: This item can be ordered from
http://www.e-elgar.com

Access Statistics for this chapter

More chapters in Chapters from Edward Elgar Publishing
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Jack Sweeney ().