Abstract

This chapter sets out the volume’s critical approach to the dominant discourse on modern slavery and its impulse to question the assumptions and the politics behind that discourse. It explores the limits of the modern slavery rhetoric for understanding the complicated logics of agency, freedom and belonging, and of past, present and future, for those who are constituted as slaves. Document type: Part of book or chapter of book

Abstract

Sustainable urban transport is a complex challenge requiring innovation in technologies, culture, and policies. Given the systemic nature of the issues involved, numerous studies have applied the transitions approach to urban transport. However, relatively weak conceptualization of agency in the transitions literature limits the usefulness of this approach for the governance of urban transport. The objective of this study is to contribute to the conceptualization of agency in the multilevel perspective to sustainability transitions. We propose that two types of actors exercise agency to foster innovation: technology constituencies, who promote the adoption of specific technologies by citizens, businesses, or governments; and instrument constituencies, who promote the adoption of specific policy instruments. In focusing predominantly on technological innovation, the transitions literature has generally juxtaposed these constituencies or considered them to be the same. We posit that the two constitute distinct, albeit possibly overlapping, actors and that their relationship(s) help better understand and explain how transitions evolve. We discuss the implications of this distinction for the governance of urban transport and argue that the presence of instrument and technology constituencies, and their relationship(s), should be examined empirically in future research. Document type: Article

Abstract

With the increasing number of people invading Greater Jakarta and the ongoing improvement of infrastructure in Greater Jakarta or Jabodetabek, one of the challenges faced by the community is traffic congestion. Previous studies revealed the negative impact of traffic congestion on community welfare and mental health. Thus, the present study aims to shed light on how Jabodetabek inhabitants and commuters experience, make sense, and adapt to daily traffic congestion. Data were obtained from discussions in six WhatsApp groups, which included a total of 160 respondents. The study supports the findings of previous studies, that is, traffic congestion leads to increased costs and losses and causes distress. However, the subjective perception of time management enables commuters to adapt to the situation. Nevertheless, the paper presents a novel finding: agentic adaptability of Jabodetabek commuters, which is evidenced by the ability to discover various means of adjusting to traffic congestion. Although effective policies are required to mitigate congestion, the good news is that many opportunities for adjustment await the community in terms of being stuck in traffic. Document type: Article