A narrative perspective on institutional work in environmental governance – insights from a beach nourishment case study in Sweden

Abstract

Institutional work offers a promising lens for understanding institutional change, focusing on the efforts of actors in creating, maintaining or disrupting institutions. In this paper, we explore the capacity of a narrative approach to provide insights on institutional work, using a case study from the coast of Sweden. We identify four narratives that compete in the policy discourse regarding erosion and beach nourishment in the coastal province of Scania. The narratives reveal that actors hold different beliefs concerning the magnitude of the erosion problem, the division of responsibilities and the suitability of sand nourishment as a coastal protection measure. The narrative competition is considered reflective of past institutional discussions and ongoing institutional work in coastal management in Scania, confirming that narratives are used as sense-making and meaning-giving devices in institutional discussions.

Institutional work in environmental governance

“…The primary added value is in complementing existing explanatory frameworks, such as discursive approaches (see e.g. Bontje et al 2018;Riedy, Kent, and Thompson 2018). Thus, we urge caution in studying institutional work as an end in itself, but see potential for it to enrich accounts of institutional change and stability set within broader theoretical approaches.…”

“…focussing on actors motivated by the distributional consequences of institutions), and discursive approaches (e.g. focusing on ideas, meaning, and narratives) in institutional analysis (Bontje et al 2018;Riedy, Kent, and Thompson 2018). March and Olsen (1984, 735) long ago highlighted the importance of examining how "political life is organised around the development of meaning through symbols, rituals, and ceremonies".…”

“…Institutional work therefore offers insights into the role of actors mediating dialectical processes through which discourses and institutions influence each other. This may be combined with other specific techniques such as narratives, performances, and meaning work (Bontje et al 2018;Riedy, Kent, and Thompson 2018).…”

Understanding perceived effectiveness of a novel coastal management project: The case of the Bacton-Walcott sandscaping scheme, UK

“…While public perceptions of beach nourishment have been well studied (for example Lozoya et al, 2014;Prati et al, 2016;Cabezas-Rabadań et al, 2019), research with policy-makers, stakeholder organizations (Ariza et al, 2014;Bontje et al, 2019), and recreational beach users (Cabezaz-Rabadań et al, 2019;Usher, 2021) is more extensive compared with local residents. Research indicates a divergent range of views amongst stakeholders, particularly on what the objectives of beach nourishment should be (Ariza et al, 2014;Prati et al, 2016).…”

Gestão de praias: do conceito à prática

“…Essas explicam e outorgam significado, por meio de palavras, àquilo que é considerado como importante em um universo de elementos, processos e escalas dinâmicos e interrelacionados Bontje et al, 2019). As narrativas podem emergir individualmente, mas também coletivamente.…”