Haller, Tobias; Fokou, Gilbert; Mbeyale, Gimbage; Meroka, Patrick (2013). How fit turns into misfit and back: institutional transformations of pastoral commons in African floodplains. Ecology and Society, 18(1), pp. 1-16. Resilience Alliance Publications 10.5751/ES-05510-180134
Full text not available from this repository. (Request a copy)We enlarge the notion of institutional fit using theoretical approaches from New Institutionalism, including rational choice and strategic action, political ecology and
constructivist approaches. These approaches are combined with ecological
approaches (system and evolutionary ecology) focusing on feedback loops and change. We offer results drawn from a comparison of fit and misfit cases of institutional change in pastoral commons in four African floodplain contexts (Zambia, Cameroon, Tanzania (two cases). Cases of precolonial fit and misfit in the postcolonial past, as well as a case of institutional fit in the postcolonial phase, highlight important features, specifically, flexible institutions, leadership, and mutual economic benefit under specific relations of bargaining power of actors. We argue that only by combining otherwise conflicting approaches can we come to understand why institutional fit develops into misfit and back again.
Key Words: African floodplains; governance; institutional change; institutional fit; New Institutionalism; pastoral commons
Item Type: |
Journal Article (Original Article) |
|---|---|
Division/Institute: |
06 Faculty of Humanities > Department of Art and Cultural Studies > Institute of Social Anthropology |
UniBE Contributor: |
Haller, Tobias |
Subjects: |
300 Social sciences, sociology & anthropology 900 History > 960 History of Africa |
ISSN: |
1708-3087 |
Publisher: |
Resilience Alliance Publications |
Language: |
English |
Submitter: |
Tobias Haller |
Date Deposited: |
02 May 2014 11:04 |
Last Modified: |
05 Dec 2022 14:33 |
Publisher DOI: |
10.5751/ES-05510-180134 |
Uncontrolled Keywords: |
African floodplains; governance; institutional change; institutional fit; New Institutionalism; pastoral commons |
URI: |
https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/49900 |
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