“End of the world, end of the month, same struggle”: On depoliticized transitions and emancipatory sustainability transformations - A case study of The French Citizens’ Convention on Climate

Sammanfattning: Reflecting an emerging trend in democratic innovation to tackle complex socio-ecological challenges, the French Citizens’ Convention on Climate (CCC) was initiated in response to climate protests and the Yellow Vests movement to define measures for achieving a socially just 40% reduction in GHG-emissions. Approaching the CCC as both an outcome and site of hegemonic struggle, I apply social movements theory and document analysis methods to investigate its genealogy, policy proposals, influence on decision-making, and evaluate its potential for sustainability transformations. My findings show that while the CCC produced an ambitious set of measures, only a small fraction was transposed into legislation after systematic unraveling by powerholders. Whether similar citizens’ assemblies can have transformative rather than system-reinforcing effects will largely depend on the degree of binding power they are endowed with, and the capacity of social movements to win significant concessions and leverage their positive social outcomes to build counter-hegemonic power.