Toward the commoning of governance

Abstract

Conventional political thought and practice continue to be stifled by a dilemma of choosing between the ideal imaginaries of State and/or Market solutions. Widely presupposed as the only valid possibilities in both theory and practice, this stale dilemma covers up a real multitude of actually existing alternative approaches to governance practiced in civil society. State/Market approaches are identical in the way that they construct a ‘spectator’ role for communities, who are left to choose between their preferred set of rules and norms developed elsewhere. The concept of commoning governance offers an opportunity to break free of this stalemate. It creates a new role for citizens and their communities as ‘sparring partners’; who although they operate within the limits of current State/Market institutions, create new norms and rules against and beyond them. In the paper, we first expand on our understanding of commoning governance: re-designing governance arrangements to serve the common good. That is here understood in terms of (radical) democracy, solidarity and sustainable ecological relationships. Second, we illustrate how commoning efforts on the ground contribute to the reclaiming of the democratic imaginary as a political arena by zooming in to a case study of the three cities involved in civic-led network of German Food Policy Councils. Finally, we reflect on the empirical barriers that communities of commoning endure, and call on policymakers, planners and scholars to interrogate their own normative understandings of citizenship and democracy, and begin to recognize theoretical and latent possibilities by enabling commoning with new or re-designed institutions of governance.

Regeneration at a distance from the state: From radical imaginaries to alternative practices in Dutch farming

“…Navigating towards an emancipatory socioecological future in the 21st century cannot be done with 20th‐century tools, methods and questions alone. Repurposing, or ‘commoning’ (Leitheiser et al., 2022a), such tools by integrating with a more localised, democratised and civic approach offers a path forward in connecting horizontal and vertical approaches and proceeding with a diversity of strategies (Nunes, 2021). New methods, tools, questions and interlocutors can in turn build on and augment more traditional approaches like we have attempted to do with political economy in this article.…”

“…‘Basically’, she said of working with the city, ‘it was a completely one‐sided activity’. This example highlights the separation between promise and practice that is often observable in urban food strategies across Europe (Cretella, 2019) and also opens discussions on what terms research (whether academic or governmental) with initiatives should be conducted, as it can often tend towards an extractive relationship (Kouritzin & Nakagawa, 2018; Leitheiser et al., 2022a). Despite previous frustrations, Meike's efforts to help her trainees find land continues, and at the time of writing, she is in the process of setting up one of her former trainees on a small piece of land at the University of Groningen's Zernike Campus.…”

“…Land co‐operatives are seen as a major opportunity for new entrants. The concept is associated with commoning governance (Leitheiser et al., 2022a) and a new form of the commons by many of those involved. Eva explained,

I'm really interested in the idea of commons to access land.

…”

Citizen Engagement in Spatial Planning, Shaping Places Together

“…Demands for inclusiveness and political representation cannot be met by spatial planning alone. Inspired by the five dilemmas, we plea for an urban governance approach which (1) goes beyond regulating and maintaining places and into the realm of creating more livable, sustainable and inclusive spaces for the future; (2) focuses less on incremental, short-term change but instead develops the structures conditional for pursuing a longer term impact; (3) includes citizens pro-actively and earlier in the first stages of visioning and policy-making, instead of merely in the implementation phase; and (4) explores new tools for (political) representation, such as citizen assemblies [61] and food policy councils [62].…”

Environmental defenders suffering death threats and "under protection" in the state of Pará, Eastern Amazonia, Brazil

“…They have been challenging "development of narratives" 13 , and producing and strengthening collective consciousness among subaltern groups, focusing on alternative policies and models. Rewriting their own paths means not allowing rules and norms for their territory to be "developed" elsewhere (Leitheiser et al, 2021). The resulting Public Letter was produced and signed by twenty-three organizations and social movements in the Seminar:…”