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Short abstract:

There is a need to explore how relational thinking and being can inform and support deliberate transformations toward sustainability. Based on learning experiences across geographies, we advance a handful of qualities that can act as central pillars for nurturing liveable relationalities.

Long abstract:

Relations and relationalities have become central theoretical framings for much transformations research due to their ability to inquire into non-deterministic and non-linear change processes and to open up hegemonic accounts of transformation. Much of this work draws on systems thinking, feminist theory and indigenous onto-epistemologies. While most research is focusing on understanding and characterizing transformations relationally, there is a need to explore how relational thinking and being can inform and support deliberate transformations toward sustainability. In this article, we define deliberate transformations toward sustainability as radical changes in societal structures, relations and logics that uproot exploitative and discriminatory modes of world-making and replace them with liveable and regenerative worlds grounded in equity, dignity and compassion. When perceived of as merely a mechanism of being in relation, relationality says little about the outcomes for sustainability. Only when we ground relationality in an ethos of care can we use relationality as a lens and compass for supporting transformative change. We intertwine our reflections with experiences from collaborations in Mexico, Alaska and Ghana, drawing on insights from feminist and Indigenous thinking and being. Learning from these collaborations, we advance a handful of qualities that can act as central pillars for qualifying liveable relationalities.