Vito Laterza – författare

Higher education institutions (HEIs) play a pivotal yet underexplored role in Regional Green Transitions (RGTs) and sustainable development. This volume addresses this knowledge gap by examining how universities in the Nordic region engage with RGTs, offering theoretical and methodological insights from diverse disciplines such as economic geography, political economy, organisational theory and education. The Nordic region, often regarded as a benchmark for best practices in education, research, innovation and regional development, serves as the backdrop for this exploration. Through a rich collection of case studies, the book reveals that RGTs are neither linear nor uniform. Universities navigate these transitions at varying speeds and with different strategies. Some act as agenda-setters, leveraging local coalitions and innovation ecosystems, while others adopt a more cautious approach, observing leading regions and universities before committing to action. Structural pressures, such as national funding systems, global supply chains and sectoral dependencies, further shape their responses. Offering important conceptual and practical insights for a wide variety of audiences, from social scientists and advance students to university managers, and policymakers, this volume underscores the critical role of HEIs in advancing RGTs (and change processes more generally) amidst evolving political, economic and social landscapes.Rómulo Pinheiro is Professor of Public Policy and Administration, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Agder, Norway.Ina Drejer is Professor of Innovation Studies at Aalborg University Business School, Denmark.Dzamila Bienkowska is Senior Associate Professor in Industrial Organization at Linköping University, Sweden.Vito Laterza is Associate Professor in the Department of the Global Development and Planning, University of Agder, Norway.Markku Sotarauta is Professor of Regional Development Studies in the Faculty of Management and Business at Tampere University, Finland.

This book examines the aftermath of eSwatini's fiftieth anniversary of independence and the COVID-19 pandemic, when many citizens of this last absolute monarchy in Africa took to their communities in unprecedented protests for democratic reform. For raising their voices, they were met with brutal police violence. Customary Nationalism in Crisis offers snapshots of life in the Kingdom leading up to and in the aftermath of this epic moment, providing lessons to the world on the power of the government to shape our lives through the guise of custom and tradition and the power of ordinary people to resist this.Through a range of research written primarily by scholar-nationals of eSwatini, the book shows how ordinary women, men, and young people redefine language and their identities—ethnic, racial, and gender—and question what it means to be a citizen, from their classrooms to clinics, and from their workplaces to the halls of Parliament. Customary Nationalism in Crisis shows that, despite the persistence of authoritarianism, citizens also adapt over the long-term to survive and thrive.This volume will appeal to scholars and students in African studies, political science, anthropology, sociology, and gender studies, as well as policymakers, human rights advocates, and development practitioners interested in southern Africa.The chapters in this volume were originally published as a special issue of Journal of Contemporary African Studies.