3° Encontro Nacional ABRI 2011


Print ISBN 2236-7381

Abstract

FRANZEN, Magnus Paul Alexander. Governing the commons and common governing.. In: 3° ENCONTRO NACIONAL ABRI 2011, 3., 2011, São Paulo. Proceedings online... Associação Brasileira de Relações Internacionais Instituto de Relações Internacionais - USP, Available from: <http://www.proceedings.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=MSC0000000122011000300014&lng=en&nrm=abn>. Acess on: 19 Apr. 2024.

This article takes an eclectic approach to environmental governance, using economic theories of governing the commons together with theories of multi-level governance and participation. It brings together the framework presented by Ostrom (1990) of how commons can be governed by the local users, the 'glass half full' model of Engels and Saleska (2005), conclusions drawn from empirical evidence on local climate mitigation activities, and an institutional economics perspective on environmental degradation, I wish to draw attention to a multi-level answer to global climate change, where the local is the geographical space where concrete actions take place. The objective is to describe a framework for decision-making that enables the (global) commons to be administered on a subglobal/subnational. The article is divided into five parts. After this introduction, I try to explain the concept of commons and the concept of property, which is seen as a crucial part of the solution, and I review the economic analysis of the commons-problem. In the third section, I give a brief account for the role of multi-level governance. This discussion is then followed by the suggestion of a local solution to a global problem, in section four. Finally, I conclude with some ideas for further study.

Keywords : Local governments; climate change; transnational networks.