Shifting governance cooperatively – coordination by public discourses in the German water-food nexus

In face of the interdependencies between policy areas in the management of common pool resources, studying nexus challenges is insightful for the exploration of new governance strategies. This includes the co-occurrence of and the interaction between different governance modes. We put forward the ar...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of environmental management 2021-05, Vol.286, p.112266-112266, Article 112266
Main Authors: Vogeler, Colette S., Möck, Malte, Bandelow, Nils C.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agricultural policy
Agriculture
Animals
Common pool resources
Discourse network analysis
Food
Governance hybrids
Livestock
Nitrate pollution
Water
Water Supply
Water-food nexus
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Summary:In face of the interdependencies between policy areas in the management of common pool resources, studying nexus challenges is insightful for the exploration of new governance strategies. This includes the co-occurrence of and the interaction between different governance modes. We put forward the argument that a promising approach to explore these dynamics over time is the method of discourse network analysis. By conducting a discourse network analysis of German agricultural and water policy in a region with intensive livestock farming and large surpluses of manure that exert pressure on water and soil resources, we analyse the development of discourses within and across policy areas. We show that the analysis of public discourses contributes to the understanding of coordination between actors. •The separation of policy areas presents a major challenge to the sustainable management of common pool resources.•The analysis of public discourses enables a new perspective on governance types beyond the trichotomy of cooperation, competition and coercion.•Hybrid governance strategies going beyond the analytical distinction between government, market and community have proven successful for sustainable environmental management.•External pressure leads to the rapprochement of discourse coalitions.
ISSN:0301-4797
1095-8630
DOI:10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.112266