Martín Meráz García
Biographic Data
| ID | 275990 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Martín Meráz García |
| GIVEN NAMES | Martín Meráz |
| FAMILY NAME | García |
| SIGNATURE | GARCÍA M M |
| AFFILIATIONS | Stockholm Resilience Centre |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-8416-8094 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 34 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 92 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 34 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2006 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 5 |
Unpacking the relational turn in sustainability science: Mapping trends and networks
Relational perspectives are gaining prominence in sustainability science, prompting discussions about a possible “relational turn.” Because of this growing interest, we propose a systematic mapping of the current state and publishing patterns on relational thinking within the field. This article proposes a comprehensive bibliometric and network analysis of 262 publications from 2010 to 2024 that explicitly engage with relational approaches in sus…
A Qualitative Examination of Mentoring Practices for First-Generation, Low-Income STEM Students Through a Critical Intersectionality Lens
This study examines the mentoring experiences of first-generation, low-income, and underrepresented students in STEM through the lens of Critical Intersectional Mentoring (CIM). Drawing on testimonios from McNair Scholars, this study identifies the systemic barriers and power dynamics that shape mentoring relationships and limit academic success. Traditional mentorship models often ignore intersecting identities, leading to experiences of margina…
Communal sustainable development goals, belonging and involvement: Engaging with the SDGs
This study examines sustainable development from the cosmovisions of Indigenous Peoples and other Traditional Communities (IoTCs) in western Bahia, a region in the Brazilian savanna of the Cerrado. It adopts a feminist decolonial and post‐development approach to address issues of epistemic violence. Employing participatory arts‐based research, this study incorporates poetic and thematic co‐analysis using participant‐voiced poetry. This approach c…
A Methodological Pathway for Supporting the Transition From Theory to Practice in Action‐Oriented Research for Transformative Change
Over recent decades, action‐oriented research has gained prominence in co‐producing actionable knowledge to drive transformative change toward sustainability. However, further methodological developments are needed to support the transition to the application phase of such knowledge. This study presents a novel methodological pathway applied through two identical workshops in two case studies within the Spanish drylands. Grounded in previously co…
A story with the Kenyan Digo of coastal social-ecological changes using an assemblage lens
Transforming a world that never stands still
Process-relational perspectives (PRP) have been put forward as a crucial contribution for conceptualizing radical transformations towards sustainability. This is because PRP conceptualize transformations as open processes. This openness is attributed, first, to processes and relations having performative power, which means that processes and relations are constitutive of elements. Second, PRP take processes and relations as continuously unfolding…
Contributions of Net-Map to sustainability action research
Net-Map, an interview-based network mapping tool, has been applied across various scientific fields and purposes since its inception to study networks of influence. In this article, we first review the general uses and limitations of Net-Map and then share experiential knowledge gained from using Net-Map to develop an action-oriented research process focused on envisioning pathways to sustainable futures in Spanish drylands. Drawing from the lite…
Unstable bridges—exploring the possibilities for “in between” spaces amidst divergent narratives in environmental governance
Social-ecological systems increasingly face polarization dynamics that challenge environmental governance. Such polarization implies the development of opposing narratives with limited interaction, each framing environmental problems and solutions in distinct ways. In this study, we analyze a case of narrative polarization around the eutrophication crises of the Mar Menor lagoon in Spain, focusing on how proposed solutions are narrated to address…
The multifaceted spectra of power − A participatory network analysis on power structures in diverse dryland regions
Bringing three empirical cases to the study of conflict and collaboration. • Contributing to the theoretical literature on sources of power by pushing the state of the art on environmental change politics. • Filling research gap by focusing on traditionally neglected actors levels of power in formal and informal network settings. • Innovative methodological approach through emphasizing qualitative social network analysis whilst emphasizing co-pro…
A meaningful performative experience: Using Forum Theatre as an ethical method in sustainability science
Sustainability scientists have engaged in extensive discussions on ethical ways of doing research and argued on the importance of co-production approaches to counter knowledge extractivism. The specific issue of research fatigue, often associated with knowledge extractivism, and the possible methods to counter it, have however received less attention. This paper seeks to contribute to discussions on ethical ways of doing research by focusing on o…
Reimagining the liminal Cerrado: The Virtual Ancestral Future
This paper examines transformations in social-ecological system through the process-relational perspective (PRP), using the concepts of the “real-possible,” the existing reality, and the “actual-virtual” potentials that exist beyond current hegemonic thinking and practices—framed within the Latin American feminist concept of Nepantla, which refers to a liminal space of transition, ambiguity, and transformation where multiple perspectives, identit…
Relational approaches to sustainability transformations: Walking together in a world of many worlds
Transformations to sustainability require alternatives to the paradigms, practices, and policies that have generated social-ecological destruction and the Anthropocene. In sustainability science, several conceptual frameworks have been developed for transformations, including social-ecological, multi-level, transformative adaptation, and pathways approaches. There is a growing shift towards recognising transformations as ‘shared spaces’ involving…
Exploring a process‐relational approach to qualitative research methods for sustainability science
As sustainability scientists increasingly put forward the relevance of process‐relational approaches to make sense of social‐ecological phenomena, an inquiry on which methods would fit a process‐relational approach is necessary. This paper discusses how a process‐relational approach can be applied to traditional qualitative research methods, namely interviews and coding and the tensions associated with it. Process‐relational perspectives share co…
Navigating causal reasoning in sustainability science
When reasoning about causes of sustainability problems and possible solutions, sustainability scientists rely on disciplinary-based understanding of cause–effect relations. These disciplinary assumptions enable and constrain how causal knowledge is generated, yet they are rarely made explicit. In a multidisciplinary field like sustainability science, lack of understanding differences in causal reasoning impedes our ability to address complex sust…
The importance of cross-scale social relationships for dealing with social-ecological change in agricultural supply chains
Agricultural systems are important for the livelihoods and food security of millions of people. These systems are increasingly interconnected across scales and face challenges in responding to multiple, and coalescing types of environmental, social, and economic change. Most studies on how actors respond to change have focused on farmers and farming communities. In this study, we investigate the connectivity of farming systems to markets, to unde…
Foregrounding Amazonian women through decolonial and process-relational perspectives for transdisciplinary transformation
The vulnerability of the Amazon has widely increased with the COVID-19 global pandemic and with the dismantlement of environmental protection policies in Brazil during the Bolsonaro administration. By contrast, local initiatives focusing on sustainable production, conservation, enhancing local people’s quality of life, and supporting a more inclusive economy have emerged throughout the region and are building resilience in face of these disruptio…
Knowledge politics around water, development and ecosystem services in Ecuador: Creative encounters and resistances
A vast amount of literature has investigated the conflicts between different ways of conceiving development in Latin America. Particular attention has been paid to power differentials among knowledge systems when it comes to decision-making, values and practices over water resources. The Ecosystem Services framework or Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) are often analysed as examples of technical and scientific tools typically produced …
Uncovering Relationships between Being Influential, Participating in Multiple Forums, and having Many Social Ties in Water Governance in Brazil
Social network analysis has long been used to explore the networks actors build around collaborative institutional arrangements, and to uncover factors explaining why certain actors are more central than others. Being central in a social network is often treated as interchangeable with being influential. We critically investigate this common assumption by drawing inspiration from structuration theory. We use the management forum of the river Para…
An Earth system law perspective on governing social-hydrological systems in the Anthropocene
The global hydrological cycle is characterized by complex interdependencies and self-regulating feedbacks that keep water in an ever-evolving state of flux at local, regional, and global levels. Increasingly, the scale of human impacts in the Anthropocene is altering the dynamics of this cycle, which presents additional challenges for water governance. “Earth system law” provides an important approach for addressing gaps in governance that arise …
The Cod and the Cut: Intra-Active Intuitions
Interest in causality is growing in sustainability science and it has been argued that a multiplicity of approaches is needed to account for the complexities of social-ecological dynamics. However, many of these approaches operate within perspectives that establish a separation between what has causal agency and all the rest, which is relegated to the role of background conditions. We argue that the distinction between causal elements and backgro…
From nouns to verbs: How process ontologies enhance our understanding of social‐ecological systems understood as complex adaptive systems
Research on social‐ecological systems (SES) has highlighted their complex and adaptive character and pointed to the importance of recognizing their intertwined nature. Yet, we often base our analysis and governance of SES on static and independent objects, such as actors and resources which are not well suited to address complexity and intertwinedness. This bias, which is largely implicit, has its roots in substance ontologies that have influence…
Adopting process-relational perspectives to tackle the challenges of social-ecological systems research
Mancilla García, M., T. Hertz, M. Schlüter, R. Preiser, and M. Woermann. 2020. Adopting process-relational perspectives to tackle the challenges of social-ecological systems research. Ecology and Society 25(1):29. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-11425-250129
Social-ecological network analysis for sustainability sciences: A systematic review and innovative research agenda for the future
Social-ecological network (SEN) concepts and tools are increasingly used in human-environment and sustainability sciences. We take stock of this budding research area to further show the strength of SEN analysis for complex human-environment settings, identify future synergies between SEN and wider human-environment research, and provide guidance about when to use different kinds of SEN approaches and models. We characterize SEN research along a …
Improving network approaches to the study of complex social–ecological interdependencies
Participatory Water Basin Councils in Peru and Brazil: Expert discourses as means and barriers to inclusion
Participation in Multiple Decision Making Water Governance Forums in Brazil Enhances Actors’ Perceived Level of Influence
The Ecology of Games Framework (EGF) draws attention to the intertwined nature of different forums in a given policy setting and how this affects governance outcomes. In this article, we associate the EGF with the literature on power asymmetries, in order to investigate hypotheses of actors’ perceived level of influence in a forum. Focusing on the Paraíba do Sul river basin committee in Brazil, we specifically explore actors’ participation in mul…
Adopting process-relational perspectives to tackle the challenges of social-ecological systems research
Mancilla García, M., T. Hertz, M. Schlüter, R. Preiser, and M. Woermann. 2020. Adopting process-relational perspectives to tackle the challenges of social-ecological systems research. Ecology and Society 25(1):29. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-11425-250129
Improving network approaches to the study of complex social–ecological interdependencies
Participatory Water Basin Councils in Peru and Brazil: Expert discourses as means and barriers to inclusion
Towards a Process Epistemology for the Analysis of Social-Ecological Systems
This paper proposes an epistemological approach to analyse social-ecological systems from a process perspective in order to better tackle the co-constitution of the social and the ecological and the dynamism of these systems. It highlights the usefulness of rethinking our conceptual tools taking processes and relations as the main constituents of reality instead of fundamental substances or essences. We introduce the concept of experience as unde…
The unique role of municipalities in integrated watershed governance arrangements: A New Research Frontier
Mancilla García, M., J. Hileman, Ö. Bodin, A. Nilsson, and P. R. Jacobi. 2019. The unique role of municipalities in integrated watershed governance arrangements: a new research frontier. Ecology and Society 24(1):28. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-10793-240128
An Earth system law perspective on governing social-hydrological systems in the Anthropocene
The global hydrological cycle is characterized by complex interdependencies and self-regulating feedbacks that keep water in an ever-evolving state of flux at local, regional, and global levels. Increasingly, the scale of human impacts in the Anthropocene is altering the dynamics of this cycle, which presents additional challenges for water governance. “Earth system law” provides an important approach for addressing gaps in governance that arise …
Narcoballads’: The Psychology and Recruitment Process of the ‘Narco’
There have been several studies conducted about racist groups, gangs, cults, terrorist and other criminal organisations, but very little has been written about the psychology and recruitment process of the ‘narcotrafficker’. This is because like most criminal organisations, they tend to be secretive and difficult to penetrate by law enforcement, academics and others who wish to study them. Using an audio‐recorded content analysis of ‘narcocorrido…
The multifaceted spectra of power − A participatory network analysis on power structures in diverse dryland regions
Bringing three empirical cases to the study of conflict and collaboration. • Contributing to the theoretical literature on sources of power by pushing the state of the art on environmental change politics. • Filling research gap by focusing on traditionally neglected actors levels of power in formal and informal network settings. • Innovative methodological approach through emphasizing qualitative social network analysis whilst emphasizing co-pro…
The importance of cross-scale social relationships for dealing with social-ecological change in agricultural supply chains
Agricultural systems are important for the livelihoods and food security of millions of people. These systems are increasingly interconnected across scales and face challenges in responding to multiple, and coalescing types of environmental, social, and economic change. Most studies on how actors respond to change have focused on farmers and farming communities. In this study, we investigate the connectivity of farming systems to markets, to unde…
The Cod and the Cut: Intra-Active Intuitions
Interest in causality is growing in sustainability science and it has been argued that a multiplicity of approaches is needed to account for the complexities of social-ecological dynamics. However, many of these approaches operate within perspectives that establish a separation between what has causal agency and all the rest, which is relegated to the role of background conditions. We argue that the distinction between causal elements and backgro…
Collaboration and conflict in complex water governance systems across a development gradient: Addressing Common Challenges and Solutions
Mancilla García, M., J. Hileman, and Ö. Bodin. 2019. Collaboration and conflict in complex water governance systems across a development gradient: addressing common challenges and solutions. Ecology and Society 24(3):28. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-11133-240328
Sumak Kawsay, Feminisms and Post-Growth: Linkages to Imagine New Utopias
This article explores the different understandings of gender that correspond to different concepts of sumak kawsay, tackling both ‘gender’ and ‘sumak kawsay’ as polysemous concepts. The article focuses specifically on the degrowth perspective, which is part of the ecological post-developmental understanding of sumak kawsay. It explores the implications that follow from these perspectives when questioning androcentric gender relationships. Additio…
Cooperation Among the Nicaraguan Sandinista Factions 1
This article reports on the findings of archival and field research in Nicaragua and includes interviews with 33 top‐, mid‐, and low‐level rebel fighters who participated in the Nicaraguan Revolution. Several theories in political psychology are used to explore coalition formation and cooperation among Sandinista factions. The article also examines the lack of cooperation among the Contra fighters during the same time period. Several hypotheses a…
Narcoballads’: The Psychology and Recruitment Process of the ‘Narco’
There have been several studies conducted about racist groups, gangs, cults, terrorist and other criminal organisations, but very little has been written about the psychology and recruitment process of the ‘narcotrafficker’. This is because like most criminal organisations, they tend to be secretive and difficult to penetrate by law enforcement, academics and others who wish to study them. Using an audio‐recorded content analysis of ‘narcocorrido…
Cooperation Among the Nicaraguan Sandinista Factions 1
This article reports on the findings of archival and field research in Nicaragua and includes interviews with 33 top‐, mid‐, and low‐level rebel fighters who participated in the Nicaraguan Revolution. Several theories in political psychology are used to explore coalition formation and cooperation among Sandinista factions. The article also examines the lack of cooperation among the Contra fighters during the same time period. Several hypotheses a…
Sumak Kawsay, Feminisms and Post-Growth: Linkages to Imagine New Utopias
This article explores the different understandings of gender that correspond to different concepts of sumak kawsay, tackling both ‘gender’ and ‘sumak kawsay’ as polysemous concepts. The article focuses specifically on the degrowth perspective, which is part of the ecological post-developmental understanding of sumak kawsay. It explores the implications that follow from these perspectives when questioning androcentric gender relationships. Additio…
Explicit Arguments, Hidden Biases: Uncovering the Role of Institutional Relationships in a Dispute Over Scientific Data in Lake Titicaca (Bolivia)
The bay of Cohana, on the Bolivian side of Lake Titicaca (between Bolivia and Peru), has suffered from eutrophication for the last 30 years. Heavy metals from mining activities in the basin have also entered the bay. While data on eutrophication are abundant, data on mining are scarce and public interventions have focused on the former. However, one of these interventions has been criticized for not taking into account the links between eutrophic…
Perceptions of College Among Latina/o Elementary Students
This study uses empirical data from a version of the Clark doll experiment and Latina/o Critical Race Theory (LatCrit) to determine the factors that shape the perceptions of college among 35 randomly selected Latina/o children in Grades 2nd to 5th. The findings of this study lead to two conclusions: (a) that Latina/o children hold their race/ethnicity in lower regard when compared to Whites, exhibit an ambivalence regarding identity that negative…
Social-ecological network analysis for sustainability sciences: A systematic review and innovative research agenda for the future
Social-ecological network (SEN) concepts and tools are increasingly used in human-environment and sustainability sciences. We take stock of this budding research area to further show the strength of SEN analysis for complex human-environment settings, identify future synergies between SEN and wider human-environment research, and provide guidance about when to use different kinds of SEN approaches and models. We characterize SEN research along a …
Improving network approaches to the study of complex social–ecological interdependencies
Participatory Water Basin Councils in Peru and Brazil: Expert discourses as means and barriers to inclusion
Participation in Multiple Decision Making Water Governance Forums in Brazil Enhances Actors’ Perceived Level of Influence
The Ecology of Games Framework (EGF) draws attention to the intertwined nature of different forums in a given policy setting and how this affects governance outcomes. In this article, we associate the EGF with the literature on power asymmetries, in order to investigate hypotheses of actors’ perceived level of influence in a forum. Focusing on the Paraíba do Sul river basin committee in Brazil, we specifically explore actors’ participation in mul…
Towards a Process Epistemology for the Analysis of Social-Ecological Systems
This paper proposes an epistemological approach to analyse social-ecological systems from a process perspective in order to better tackle the co-constitution of the social and the ecological and the dynamism of these systems. It highlights the usefulness of rethinking our conceptual tools taking processes and relations as the main constituents of reality instead of fundamental substances or essences. We introduce the concept of experience as unde…
The unique role of municipalities in integrated watershed governance arrangements: A New Research Frontier
Mancilla García, M., J. Hileman, Ö. Bodin, A. Nilsson, and P. R. Jacobi. 2019. The unique role of municipalities in integrated watershed governance arrangements: a new research frontier. Ecology and Society 24(1):28. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-10793-240128
Collaboration and conflict in complex water governance systems across a development gradient: Addressing Common Challenges and Solutions
Mancilla García, M., J. Hileman, and Ö. Bodin. 2019. Collaboration and conflict in complex water governance systems across a development gradient: addressing common challenges and solutions. Ecology and Society 24(3):28. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-11133-240328
From nouns to verbs: How process ontologies enhance our understanding of social‐ecological systems understood as complex adaptive systems
Research on social‐ecological systems (SES) has highlighted their complex and adaptive character and pointed to the importance of recognizing their intertwined nature. Yet, we often base our analysis and governance of SES on static and independent objects, such as actors and resources which are not well suited to address complexity and intertwinedness. This bias, which is largely implicit, has its roots in substance ontologies that have influence…
Adopting process-relational perspectives to tackle the challenges of social-ecological systems research
Mancilla García, M., T. Hertz, M. Schlüter, R. Preiser, and M. Woermann. 2020. Adopting process-relational perspectives to tackle the challenges of social-ecological systems research. Ecology and Society 25(1):29. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-11425-250129
Uncovering Relationships between Being Influential, Participating in Multiple Forums, and having Many Social Ties in Water Governance in Brazil
Social network analysis has long been used to explore the networks actors build around collaborative institutional arrangements, and to uncover factors explaining why certain actors are more central than others. Being central in a social network is often treated as interchangeable with being influential. We critically investigate this common assumption by drawing inspiration from structuration theory. We use the management forum of the river Para…
An Earth system law perspective on governing social-hydrological systems in the Anthropocene
The global hydrological cycle is characterized by complex interdependencies and self-regulating feedbacks that keep water in an ever-evolving state of flux at local, regional, and global levels. Increasingly, the scale of human impacts in the Anthropocene is altering the dynamics of this cycle, which presents additional challenges for water governance. “Earth system law” provides an important approach for addressing gaps in governance that arise …
The Cod and the Cut: Intra-Active Intuitions
Interest in causality is growing in sustainability science and it has been argued that a multiplicity of approaches is needed to account for the complexities of social-ecological dynamics. However, many of these approaches operate within perspectives that establish a separation between what has causal agency and all the rest, which is relegated to the role of background conditions. We argue that the distinction between causal elements and backgro…
Knowledge politics around water, development and ecosystem services in Ecuador: Creative encounters and resistances
A vast amount of literature has investigated the conflicts between different ways of conceiving development in Latin America. Particular attention has been paid to power differentials among knowledge systems when it comes to decision-making, values and practices over water resources. The Ecosystem Services framework or Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) are often analysed as examples of technical and scientific tools typically produced …
The importance of cross-scale social relationships for dealing with social-ecological change in agricultural supply chains
Agricultural systems are important for the livelihoods and food security of millions of people. These systems are increasingly interconnected across scales and face challenges in responding to multiple, and coalescing types of environmental, social, and economic change. Most studies on how actors respond to change have focused on farmers and farming communities. In this study, we investigate the connectivity of farming systems to markets, to unde…
Foregrounding Amazonian women through decolonial and process-relational perspectives for transdisciplinary transformation
The vulnerability of the Amazon has widely increased with the COVID-19 global pandemic and with the dismantlement of environmental protection policies in Brazil during the Bolsonaro administration. By contrast, local initiatives focusing on sustainable production, conservation, enhancing local people’s quality of life, and supporting a more inclusive economy have emerged throughout the region and are building resilience in face of these disruptio…
Relational approaches to sustainability transformations: Walking together in a world of many worlds
Transformations to sustainability require alternatives to the paradigms, practices, and policies that have generated social-ecological destruction and the Anthropocene. In sustainability science, several conceptual frameworks have been developed for transformations, including social-ecological, multi-level, transformative adaptation, and pathways approaches. There is a growing shift towards recognising transformations as ‘shared spaces’ involving…
Exploring a process‐relational approach to qualitative research methods for sustainability science
As sustainability scientists increasingly put forward the relevance of process‐relational approaches to make sense of social‐ecological phenomena, an inquiry on which methods would fit a process‐relational approach is necessary. This paper discusses how a process‐relational approach can be applied to traditional qualitative research methods, namely interviews and coding and the tensions associated with it. Process‐relational perspectives share co…
Navigating causal reasoning in sustainability science
When reasoning about causes of sustainability problems and possible solutions, sustainability scientists rely on disciplinary-based understanding of cause–effect relations. These disciplinary assumptions enable and constrain how causal knowledge is generated, yet they are rarely made explicit. In a multidisciplinary field like sustainability science, lack of understanding differences in causal reasoning impedes our ability to address complex sust…
Transforming a world that never stands still
Process-relational perspectives (PRP) have been put forward as a crucial contribution for conceptualizing radical transformations towards sustainability. This is because PRP conceptualize transformations as open processes. This openness is attributed, first, to processes and relations having performative power, which means that processes and relations are constitutive of elements. Second, PRP take processes and relations as continuously unfolding…
Contributions of Net-Map to sustainability action research
Net-Map, an interview-based network mapping tool, has been applied across various scientific fields and purposes since its inception to study networks of influence. In this article, we first review the general uses and limitations of Net-Map and then share experiential knowledge gained from using Net-Map to develop an action-oriented research process focused on envisioning pathways to sustainable futures in Spanish drylands. Drawing from the lite…
Ecology (14 works) · Sociology (14 works) · Political science (12 works) · Sustainability and Climate Change Governance (11 works) · Computer Science (10 works) · Sustainability (9 works) · Biology (8 works) · Complex Systems and Decision Making (8 works) · Corporate governance (8 works) · Economics (7 works)