Our analysis is divided into two parts. Part one, the meta-analysis, summarises the relevant literature (including various practical examples) and embeds it into the debate. A theoretical introduction to the topic and a generic overview of the principal stakeholders in social-ecological transformation processes is followed by a systematic analysis of the principal challenges and opportunities of designing socially just processes based on key institutional drivers. It concludes with a chapter on possible solutions. Part two outlines four case studies from New Zealand, Brazil/Denmark, Jordan and South Africa and their approaches to socially just, sustainable transformative processes.