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  • 2 - The Multi-level Perspective on Sustainability Transitions

  • from Part I - Understanding Sustainability Transitions
  • Edited by Julius Wesche, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Abe Hendriks, Utrecht University
  • Book:
    Introduction to Sustainability Transitions Research
    Published online:
    22 February 2026
    Print publication:
    12 March 2026, pp 15-33
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  • Summary

    This chapter explores the multi-level perspective (MLP), a key framework in sustainability transitions research. It highlights how the MLP bridges social science dichotomies (e.g. stability-change, agency-structure) by integrating insights from evolutionary economics, innovation sociology, and institutional theory. The chapter outlines the MLP’s three levels - niche innovations, socio-technical systems, and landscape developments - and their interactions across four transition phases: experimentation, stabilisation, diffusion, and institutionalisation. An empirical case study of Germany’s electricity transition (1986-2022) illustrates these dynamics. The chapter also examines developments such as four transition pathways (substitution, transformation, reconfiguration, de-alignment/re-alignment) and evolving actor roles. It concludes by identifying seven key research topics: niche-regime interaction, regime destabilisation and phase-out, diffusion and acceleration, multi-system interaction, whole-system reconfiguration, incumbent reorientation, and trade-offs between transition speed and depth.