Understanding the complex power dynamics that shape collaboration and social learning in multi-stakeholder water governance
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4240375 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Lisa Mcilwain, Julia Baird (0000-0002-2580-5361), Claudia Baldwin (0000-0002-0707-6564), Gary Pickering, Gary J Pickering (0000-0001-5104-4968), Catherine Manathunga (0000-0001-8915-0344), T Frise Smith (0000-0002-3991-5211), Timothy Smith (0000-0001-5653-5643) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 29 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Publication date | 2024-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Conservation Ecology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1195-5449 • E-ISSN: 1708-3087 |
| Publisher | Resilience Alliance (PUBLISHER • CA) |
| DOI | 10.5751/es-15109-290331 |
| OpenAlex | W4402822755 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 5 |
The relationship between power dynamics and decision making in natural resource management is central to explaining governance outcomes. Contemporary catchment governance is increasingly characterized by the interaction of multiple stakeholder groups, which has shifted processes like collaboration and social learning into the focus of water governance research and related fields. Because collaboration and social learning are effective tools for resilience building through, for example, strengthening social capital and network relationships, there is need to better understand how power dynamics influence processes of collaboration and learning and consequential decision making. A three-dimensional power theory was applied to elucidate how instrumental, structural, and discursive power dynamics shape collaboration and social learning in catchment governance, and their effects on governance outcomes. The development process of the Lockyer Valley Catchment Action Plan (Australia) in 2015–2016 was used as a case study. Twenty-five interviews with three diverse stakeholders were conducted and thematically analyzed to extract power evidence from this example of a real-world multi-stakeholder governance process. We identified three main hubs of power, namely: (1) power of facilitation; (2) power of trust; and (3) power of politics. These hubs were characterized by a multitude of strongly interlinked instrumental, structural, and discursive power dynamics. Understanding these hubs of power allow the identification of intervention points to strengthen water governance effectiveness in times of water crisis
Business · Collaborative governance · Corporate governance · Environmental governance · Environmental planning · Environmental resource management · Geography · Political science · Public relations · Sociology · Stakeholder · Environmental Science · Transboundary Water Resource Management · Water resources management and optimization · Water-Energy-Food Nexus Studies
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Working Together
| Unique citing works | 5 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 5 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2026 (2) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 5 |