Between the ‘Other’ and the ‘Same’: The alterity of the alternative economies in sustainability transitions

This special issue explores the role of economic alterity in sustainability transitions. It draws attention to the ways in which ‘alternative’ and ‘mainstream’ economic practices are defined, enacted, and contested. Moving beyond binary framings, the editorial presents contributions that examine alternative economic initiatives through the lens of situated, relational, and hybrid dynamics. The articles shed light on the tensions between opposition and co-optation, and between individual and systemic change. In doing so, they emphasise the significance of subaltern knowledge, community identity, and plural imaginaries. By foregrounding these dimensions, the special issue advocates a more political and situated approach to transitions research, encouraging greater attention to be paid to uneven geographies, ontological diversity, and the complex relationships between alternatives and the mainstream. Thus, it contributes to broader efforts to rethink how economies are made, unmade, and remade within, against, and beyond capitalist modernity.