Skip to Main Content
 

Global Search Box

 
 
 
 

Files

File List


39324.pdf (1.8 MB)

ETD Abstract Container

Abstract Header

Interdependence in Complex Polycentric Governance Systems

McLaughlin, Danielle M
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin162766118206865

Abstract Details

2021, PhD, University of Cincinnati, Arts and Sciences: Political Science.
Complex polycentric governance systems may be understood as an `ecology of games’ composed of constellations of actors interacting across many policy forums that operate within a geographically defined territory containing multiple collective action problems (e.g., water pollution and biodiversity). Watersheds provide a natural setting for studies of polycentric systems because they typically span jurisdictional boundaries and feature a web of interconnected collective action problems. This natural complexity is compounded by the diverse and often obstinate policy interests of actors from different societal sectors (e.g., government, NGOs, business). Perhaps even more challenging in watershed governance are the multifaceted interdependencies that exist between actors, issues, and forums in a polycentric system. For example, forums may be functionally linked when they address overlapping policy issues and/or when they share common actors. Due to this interdependence, polycentric systems are vulnerable to problems of fragmentation, begetting institutional and strategic externalities whereby decisions made in one forum can negatively or positively affect the scope of the policy problem and/or deliberative processes in other forums. Consequently, actor strategies and policy output in a focal forum may in fact be codetermined by dynamics occurring in interdependent forums. This dissertation aims to understand how interdependence between forums impacts policy actors’ decision-making, incentive and payoff structures, and distribution of policy benefits. In Chapter 2, I examine the flow of conflict between forums linked via actor co-membership networks. In Chapter 3, I ask how an actor’s self-interested nature is shaped by the structure of their broader system-wide participation patterns. In Chapter 4, I develop four hypotheses regarding the impact of four different types of forum interconnectivities (i.e., social, ecological, institutional, and issue-based) on outcome spillovers between forums. Overall, this dissertation extols the importance of studying governance systems from a systemic perspective while viewing interdependence as a substantive variable of interest. My research, as reported in this dissertation, demonstrates that forum deliberations and policy output is strongly impacted by interactions from other institutions and processes.
Jack Mewhirter, Ph.D. (Committee Chair)
Brian Calfano, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Andrew Lewis, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
166 p.
Political Science
ecology of games; polycentric governance; public policy; interdependence; behavioral spillovers

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • McLaughlin, D. M. (2021). Interdependence in Complex Polycentric Governance Systems [Doctoral dissertation, University of Cincinnati]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin162766118206865

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • McLaughlin, Danielle. Interdependence in Complex Polycentric Governance Systems. 2021. University of Cincinnati, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin162766118206865.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • McLaughlin, Danielle. "Interdependence in Complex Polycentric Governance Systems." Doctoral dissertation, University of Cincinnati, 2021. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin162766118206865

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ucin162766118206865
195
© 2021, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by University of Cincinnati and OhioLINK.