Deep Dive: Transition Pathways
Transition pathways are fundamental to narrative-led systems change, offering both a descriptive and prescriptive framework for diagnosing systemic crises and guiding cultural evolution.
Transition pathways outline a three-stage process that societies undergo as they move from fragility to transformation.
- Fragile (Status Quo) – The dominant system operates under “business as usual,” maintaining existing power structures, cultural norms, and economic models. This stage is often marked by stability but also by deep-seated injustices and ecological degradation.
- Critical (Justice Demands) – As crises emerge—whether social, political, or ecological—critical discourse intensifies. Marginalized voices, activists, and movements challenge the status quo, exposing its failures and advocating for justice. This phase is characterized by disruption, protest, and the questioning of dominant narratives.
- Transformational (Ontological Shifts & Alternative Futures) – If the critical phase leads to systemic reflection rather than suppression, fragmented critiques coalesce into new models of understanding. This phase is not just about policy change but a deep shift in underlying belief systems, values, and ways of relating to the world. It enables the emergence of alternative futures grounded in regeneration, interdependence, and systemic justice.
By mapping and engaging with transition pathways, we can strategically intervene in narrative landscapes, accelerating the shift toward futures based on justice and interdependence.For example the narrative mapping below from a Culture Hack Labs project “Territories of Transition”, illustrates the transition from mainstream, hegemonic narrative of private land ownership (status quo; injustice) progressing through “land back” narratives (justice), and culminating in “land back to right relations” (transformational; ontological shift).
