Governance for sustainable development

Theory of adaptive networks is applied to the Dutch policy making process about sustainable transport. In the Netherlands the intended policy approach has been termed `transition management´. Political leaders and business leaders have looked for innovative solutions for wicked problems. They were prepared to develop trust by separating joint knowledge building from powering. Adaptive networks and power networks emerged as ideal types. The tension between both attracted change. The iteration between adaptive (reflexive, learning) interactions and power interactions leads to different, more sustainable outcomes, since the justification of policies is based on more complex ideas.