Cooperation Patterns in Colorado River Polycentric Governance

• In Event: Collaborative and Polycentric Governance

Abstract

In polycentric governance systems, decision making occurs across multiple forums and policy processes, wherein actors convene to address collective issues. While different sets of actors participate in different forums and processes, the interdependent nature of polycentric governance suggests that many of the same actors will interact repeatedly over time across different settings. These repeated interactions – and the cooperation patterns they produce – are expected to have a substantial impact on the trajectory of system governance as actors wield institutional knowledge, past relationships, and power to influence decision making. To better understand this impact, this study seeks to understand cooperation patterns among actors participating in a single polycentric governance system over time – including what drives cooperation among them and what cooperation gaps exist.

Empirically, we analyze cooperation over time in the Colorado River Basin (CRB), a complex, polycentric governance system that includes multiple overlapping policy forums and diverse actors from the United States, Mexico, and 30 Tribal Nations. Using a social network analysis (SNA) approach, we construct networks representing five policy processes that occurred within the CRB’s two major basin-scale governance forums between 2000-present. Specifically, we analyze who participates and who does not in each process, and if previously identified drivers of cooperation (e.g. past cooperation, homophily, institutional externalities) influence these patterns. Importantly, we include in our analysis actors who may have not participated in some or all of the processes, but who theoretically could be engaged (e.g. Tribes), to more accurately represent the full suite of cooperation choices. By revealing cooperation drivers and gaps in a polycentric governance system over time, our findings advance theory on the evolution of polycentric governance and provide applied lessons for enhancing inclusivity in CRB governance.

Authors

• Elizabeth Koebele, University of Nevada, Reno

• Linda Esteli Mendez-Barrientos, University of Denver

• Andrea K. Gerlak