Projects
Here, we will list the descriptions of our ongoing and past projects.
Ongoing projects
Our current work is focused on the past, present and possible futures of industrial modernity. Building on the Deep Transitions framework, we aim to develop a new, empirically informed theory of industrial modernization that can be used to devise context-specific and actionable interventions for enacting a deep sustainability turn.
The crisis and transformation of industrial modernity, 1900-2055 (2024-2028, funder: Estonian Research Council)
Contemporary societies are underpinned by industrial modernity: a set of commonly shared ideas, institutions and practices related to the natural environment, science, and technology. Historically industrial modernity has enabled massive leaps in societal welfare, while increasing environmental degradation. Therefore, many of its dominant traits need to be rethought to address the interlinked crises of climate change, biodiversity loss, and resource depletion. Drawing on and further developing the recent Deep Transitions framework, the project will 1) chart the rise and crisis of industrial modernity over the 20th century; 2) identify countries where it is most likely to be transformed; 3) apply these insights to Estonia’s current situation. The project will therefore offer a new comparative-historical theory of industrial modernization, allowing to devise imaginative yet context-specific and actionable interventions for enabling a deep and just sustainability turn in Estonia.
Read more: https://www.etis.ee/Portal/Projects/Display/a63770b7-4aa7-4d51-ab7d-8f356c17294d
Rise and Demise of Industrial Modernity (2025-2030, ERC Consolidator project)
Industrial modernity, encompassing shared institutions and practices related to technoscience and the environment, has driven major advancements in contemporary societies. However, in today’s context of socio-ecological polycrisis, many of its traits have become maladaptive, often resulting in solutions to challenges like climate change that inadvertently exacerbate the problems. The ERC-funded RiDe project will apply a novel deep transitions framework to transform our understanding of industrial societies, exploring their acceleration, crises, and transformative potential since the 1900s. Drawing on this analysis, the project will develop an innovative theory that provides an empirically grounded, comprehensive, and historically informed understanding of industrial modernisation for sustainability science.
Funded by the European Union (ERC, project RiDe, project number 101170823). Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Council. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
Past projects
Our past work focused on ways to accelerate energy and mobility transitions in Estonia. We also developed a novel approach for measuring the long-term evolution and current legacy of industrial modernity in different countries.
Reshaping Estonian energy, mobility and telecommunications systems on the verge of the Second Deep Transition (2019-2023, funder: Estonian Research Council)
The basic structure and dynamics of Estonian energy and transport systems can be traced back to Western industrial states in the interwar era. Currently both systems produce large negative environmental impacts: furthermore, unequal distribution of these impacts intensifies social inequality. Estonia’s success in the field of information technology might help to alleviate these tendencies. However, studies show that careless application of ICT-s might lead to worsening environmental and social conditions. The project focuses on three Estonian systems – energy, transport, communications – aiming to analyse their history and to design interventions for shaping their development onto a sustainable and just path without repeating the past mistakes of industrial societies in developing, applying and regulating technologies. It is based on a novel Deep Transitions framework, conceptualizing the evolution of industrial society through the interactions of socio-technical systems.
Visit the project website to learn more: suursiire.ut.ee