This chapter discusses the political steering approach, which is one of the ‘second-generation’ theories within the scholarship on societal transformations. The approach has taken inspiration from the actor-centred steering theory developed in the German-speaking world and political science research on governance mechanisms. It has enriched our knowledge of transition processes in several ways. It made clear on the one hand that some of the voiced theoretical scepticism about the possibility to control and govern fundamental change was partly based on false initial assumptions. On the other hand, the review of the debate on political steering demonstrates that transformational success often had a paradoxical character, as—though based on reforms—it cannot be considered without restriction as a result of targeted policies.