Seeing Polycentrically

Abstract

For recent examples of inquiry-based approaches to analysing complex governance situations, see Buytaert et al. (2016), Kerber (2017), and Kiparsky et al. (2017. 2 We are setting aside the topic of research methods, i.e., the means by which an analyst might collect and analyse data on these inquiries. 3 Of course, these are not the only options and may instead be seen as poles of a spectrum along which actual governance arrangements lie.

How did we get here? The evolution of a polycentric system of groundwater governance

“…The bottom-up emergence of polycentricity is only one possible pathway to the formation of polycentric systems. They may also develop via a top-down pathway through the actions and design of higher-level authorities with the power to shape institutional formation and management strategies (Blomquist and Schröder 2019). Carlisle and Gruby (2018), for example, show that the evolution of polycentric fisheries management in Palau shifted control away from local communities, and Brewer (2010) shows how federal involvement in local customary fishing arrangements led to a formalization of polycentricity.…”

Governing the diverse forest: Polycentric climate governance in the Amazon

“…It is a process that requires reliable information about time and place variables as well as a broad repertoire of culturally acceptable rules". 2) Social problems' characteristics -Social problems are culturally and historically co-determined as are the ways people address them (Blomquist & Schroder, 2019). Although it is broadly accepted that this co-determines public decisionmaking in different geographies (Kickert, 2003), the nature of the relations between cultures and governance has largely been neglected.…”

“…The structure and functioning of governance arrangements strongly reflect the characteristics of social problems being addressed by dominant power holders, people's variable knowledge about those characteristics, and differing perceptions of them (Blomquist & Schroder, 2019). Where indigenous people emphasize the holistic nature of their participation, environmental agencies have specific responsibilities compartmentalized by law.…”