Governance as theory: five propositions

Locating Communities in Natural Resource Management

“…We have set out rather modestly from existing theory to provide some clarity on community terminology and concepts in NRM. Our approach has been to offer an applied understanding of communities as an organizing framework rather than as normative theory (Stoker, 1998). The framework, when applied, can assist in determining what or who are we talking about, when we refer to communities in NRM, and why they are an important concept.…”

“…Governance is where power and authority are horizontally decentralized and devolved to broader members of society. Thus, in governance the public can theoretically interact with the institutions and process of government to influence decisions and actions (Bulkeley, 2005;Stoker, 1998). Terms such as 'government-community partnerships', 'collaboration' 200 Harrington et al or 'co-management' typify contemporary NRM institutions which encompass rules, arrangements, laws, processes and traditions that structure environmentsociety interactions (Dovers, 2005).…”

What is protective space? Reconsidering niches in transitions to sustainability

“…Each actor participates in, responds to or counteracts an emerging niche network in different ways and with different purposes, holding different interpretations and interests in the situations across which the niche develops, and offering or withholding resources of varying significance to the future directions of niche development. Not all actors enter into these negotiations equally: some are able to exercise greater influence owing to their resource attributes, experience, institutional positions, and connections with other influential actors, all relative to the task in hand; but neither does any single actor, such as an industrial lobby, or a government department, have sufficient power to force through decisions, strategies, and implementation activities unilaterally (Stoker, 1998;Rhodes, 1997).…”

Third-Party Governance under No Child Left Behind: Accountability and Performance Management Challenges

“…For more than three decades, scholars of governance have been calling attention to a significant transformation in traditional structures of public administration, in which third-party, nongovernmental entities are playing increasingly central roles in the management of government responsibilities and direct provision of goods and services to the public (Guttman and Willner 1976;Salamon 1989;Stoker 1998;Kettl 2002). The new public management (NPM) reforms of the 1990s advanced this devolution 1 or "divesting" of government functions and managerial responsibilities to the private sector, with the goal of promoting a more efficient, competitive, results-oriented and responsive public sector (Frederickson and Smith 2003;Meier and Hill 2005).…”