Abstract We review some recent work on the physics underlying higher-dimensional Chern-Simons theories. By definition, the off-shell field content of 5d Chern-Simons supergravity is the same as that of standard supergravity. The equations of motion, however, are very different. One may expect that expanding the Chern-Simons equations around the most symmetrical vacuum may give supergravity (to some order) but this is not the case. We argue here that an intriguing connection between both theories may exist, at least asymptotically (far away from sources), and the key role is played by symmetry breaking. This is the written version of an invited talk delivered at the Conference Renormalization Group and Anomalies in Gravity and Cosmology, Ouro Preto, March 2003.