What's missing from Ostrom? Combining design principles with the theory of sociocultural viability

Abstract

Since 1990, Elinor Ostrom's design principles for common property resource (CPR) institutions have been highly influential, offering a counter to pessimistic arguments about resource users' prospects of cooperating to manage CPRs sustainably. However, the theoretical underpinnings of Ostrom's theory have been criticised: as unfairly negative towards macro-level interventions; as utilising an overly narrow conceptualisation of rationality; and under appreciative of the role of power. These criticisms are examined using insights drawn from the theory of sociocultural viability (cultural theory, for short), a theory of plural rationality related to context. Utilising the case of Faroese whaling, the research aim is to assess the extent that cultural theory ameliorates criticisms laid at Ostrom's design principles. It finds that Ostrom's research trajectory was reaching the limits of methodological individualism's ability to grasp rational behaviour and suggests the design principles may in effect be integrated with cultural theory.

Keywords

Elinor Ostrom; design principles; cultural theory; common property resource institutions; plural rationality

Published in

Environmental Politics
2017, volume: 26, number: 6, pages: 994-1014

SLU Authors

• Singleton, Benedict

  • Department of Urban and Rural Development, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

Associated SLU-program

SLU Swedish Biodiversity Centre

UKÄ Subject classification

Sociology (excluding Social work, Social Psychology and Social Anthropology)

Publication identifier

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09644016.2017.1364150

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/83810