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Introduction -- Repression, ignorance, and undone science -- The epistemic dimension of the political opportunity structure -- The politics of meaning: from frames to design conflicts -- The organizational forms of counterpublic knowledge -- Institutional change, industrial transitions, and regime resistance politics -- Contemporary change: liberalization and epistemic modernization -- Conclusion

After describing federal green energy initiatives in the first two years of the Obama administration, Hess turns his attention to the state and local levels, examining demand-side and supply-side support for green industry and local small business. He analyzes the successes and failures of green coalitions and the partisan patterns of support for green energy reform. This new piecemeal green industrial policy, Hess argues, signals a fundamental challenge to anti-interventionist beliefs about the relationship between the government and the economy."--Publisher description.

Global problems and localist solutions -- Economic development and localist knowledge -- Can localism be just and sustainable? -- The politics of local retailing -- The challenges of urban agriculture -- Local energy and the public sector -- Localism and the media -- Policies for an alternative economy.

In Alternative Pathways in Science and Industry, David Hess examines how social movements and other forms of activism affect innovation in science, technology, and industry. Synthesizing and extending work in social studies of science and technology, social movements, and globalization, Hess explores the interaction of grassroots environmental action and mainstream industry and offers a conceptual framework for understanding it. Hess proposes a theory of scientific and technological change that considers the roles that both industry and grassroots consumers play in setting the research agenda in science and technology, and he identifies "alternative pathways" by which social movements can influence scientific and technological innovation. He analyzes four of these pathways: industrial opposition movements, organized against targeted technologies (as in the campaign against nuclear energy); technology- and product-oriented movements, which press for alternatives (as does the organic food movement); localism, which promotes local ownership (as in "buy-local" campaigns); and access pathways, which support a more equitable distribution of resources. Within each pathway, Hess examines reforms in five different areas: agriculture, energy, waste and manufacturing, infrastructure, and finance. The book's theoretical argument and empirical evidence demonstrate the complex pattern of incorporation (of grassroots innovations) and transformation (of alternative ownership structures and the alternative products themselves) that has characterized the relationship of industry and activism. Hess's analysis of alternative pathways to change suggests ways economic organizations could shift to a more just and sustainable course in the twenty-first century.

The transition to connected and autonomous (or automated) vehicles (CAVs) in the United States is used to explore the role of civil society in the acceleration and deceleration of sociotechnical transitions. This is an "incumbent-led transition," which occurs when large industrial corporations in one or more industries lead a systemic technological change. This type of transition may generate public concerns about risk and uncertainty, which can be expressed and mobilized by civil society organizations (CSOs). In turn, CSOs may also attempt to decelerate the transition process in order to develop better regulation and to change technology design. Based on an analysis of CSO statements in the public sphere and media reports on CAVs in the U.S., the political strategy of CSOs is examined to improve understanding of the role of civil society in incumbent-led transitions. The analysis indicates that the strategy includes four main aspects: articulating an alternative political goal (slower introduction of advanced autonomous vehicles and more rapid introduction of existing driver-assisted technology), engaging multiple targets or venues of action (different government units and the private sector), forming and expanding a broad coalition, and selecting effective tactics of influence (lobbying, media outreach, and research involving public opinion polls). ; This project was partially supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation, OISE-1743772, Partnerships for International Science and Engineering (PIRE) Program: "Science of Design for Societal-Scale Cyber-Physical Systems." Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. Magdalena Subidjo assisted with research by gathering news media articles, and Jack Barkenbus commented on an earlier version of the paper.