Power and Learning in Complex Governance Systems

The current epoch, the Anthropocene, is characterized by unprecedented environmental change brought on by climate change, biodiversity loss, globalization, the digital revolution, development, and population growth. Interdependence between social, ecological, and technical systems operating at multiple scales presents challenges in adapting and transforming to fit the changing conditions. Governance systems that can adapt to this complexity and uncertainty are critical to dealing with these changes. Polycentric governance systems are one such type of governance and are theorized to enhance adaptive capacity, improve institutional fit, and mitigate risk. Empirical evidence demonstrates that effective polycentric governance supports learning and experimentation, key adaptation processes. Polycentric governance systems are susceptible to the exercise of power. Power dynamics are fundamental to the study of policymaking and governance. Actors with different positions, interests, and abilities to access and mobilize resources shape the goals, processes, and outcomes of the governance system. However, the popular conceptualizations of polycentric governance rarely account for how social, economic, and political power shapes the system's dynamics and adaptability. Learning is one of the crucial dynamics fostering adaptive institutions and governance. However, little attention has been paid to integrating power into policy learning frameworks. This dissertation uses the collective learning process framework to investigate learning and power. It employs diverse methodologies to investigate 1) the role of power in the structure of governance systems, 2) participation in the learning process, and 3) exercises of power in collective learning. In Chapter 2, I compare how local organizations perceive a governance system’s function and structure to help them learn and adapt to change. In Chapter 3, I analyze participation in collective learning using the case of housing supply legislation in Arizona. In Chapter 4, I aim to identify the impact of power at each stage in the collective learning process, creating scaffolding on which future studies may build. This dissertation contributes evidence to the ways in which power impacts learning in governance systems. It builds on evidence that power is a key dynamic in governance systems and provides examples of where it may be exercised to advance the common good.