Robust governance for the long term and the heat of the moment: Temporal strategies for coping with dual crises

Abstract

Today the world is confronted with dual crises: creeping and acute threats unfolding at the same time-for example, the manifestation of extreme weather events such as drought and flooding and the creeping crisis of climate change. To cope with dual crises, this article develops a novel temporal perspective that offers policy actors a repertoire of interrelated strategies for enhancing the robustness of institutional efforts. The repertoire consists of five temporal strategies that policy actors can use to navigate the twin challenges of immediate and latent threats in conjunction: strategic coupling of short-term shocks and creeping crises, crafting time horizons, molding the pace of public problem-solving, mobilizing anticipatory capacity through futuring techniques, and adaptive iteration of policy decisions. We illustrate the practical application of these strategies in an exploratory case study of adaptive water management in the Netherlands.Samenvatting: De wereld wordt geconfronteerd met duale crises: sluipende en acute dreigingen op hetzelfde moment, zoals extreme weersgebeurtenissen als droogte of watersnood tegelijkertijd met de sluipende crisis van klimaatverandering.Om te reageren op duale crises, ontwikkelt dit artikel een nieuw repertoire van vijf temporele strategieën voor beleidsmakers om de robuustheid van overheidssystemen te

Public administration and politics meet turbulence: The search for robust governance responses

“…These different dimensions are obviously closely related, but keeping the analytical distinction in mind may reveal a range of different possibilities for achieving robustness. For example, the paper by Pot et al (2022), which emphasizes the process dimension, points to the potential value of thinking about the temporality of governance. Second, while the papers in this special issue provide some important empirical support for the theoretical frameworks that we have reviewed, they also provide some anomalous findings that require follow-up.…”

“…Pot et al (2022), in this special issue, are also attentive to the process dimensions of robust governance. Arguing that we must think of robustness in temporal terms, they demonstrate how robust governance can use time both tactically and strategically.…”

“…Hence, robustness emphasizes the importance of maintaining multiple repertoires that can be flexibly redeployed to meet changing circumstances. The endeavor to exploit crises and heightened turbulence to go in new and innovative directions while flexibly adapting the existing forms of governance to maintain basic ambitions, functions, and values is also clearly recognized by Bothner et al (2010), Padgett andPowell (2012), andFerraro et al (2015), all of whom refer to the need for action that does not merely adjust the existing path marginally, but which aims to keep future lines of action open and to shift direction to fulfill some basic goals. Similarly, Sørensen and Ansell (2021) talk about robust political systems as systems capable of responding to disruptive political tensions in dynamic and constructive ways and argue that this robustness may be a property of political institutions, processes, and policies.…”

“…A third process trait is fast learning, which refers to the collective ability to learn in a timely manner from changing circumstances, rapidly revising strategies and tactics accordingly. Pot et al (2022), in this special issue, are also attentive to the process dimensions of robust governance. Arguing that we must think of robustness in temporal terms, they demonstrate how robust governance can use time both tactically and strategically.…”

Deciding for resilience: Utilizing water infrastructure investments to prepare for the future

“…The room for the river program in the Netherlands is a clear example of this: the connected projects involved both dyke strengthening measures as well as allowing rivers to flood predesignated spillover basin areas when water levels become too high. The spillover basin areas can be used for grazing cattle or recreational activities when water levels are low (Pot et al, 2022). Also within urban area environments, there is an increased application of the use of green spaces such as parks or small nature areas as, for example, water retention areas (Carter et al, 2018; Porse, 2013).…”