3.4 Analysis
133
In this section, I will discuss eThekwini’s green and ecological infrastructure initiatives through the lens of liberal institutionalism. Table 3.4 is an elaboration of the
theory’s assumptions and how they are manifested in the respondent’s answers. From
Table 3.4, we can see that several themes or topics stand out, namely, collaboration,
networking and interdependent domestic and international relations, the commodification of nature, competition, domestic politics and policies, functionalism, interest
group pluralism and organs of state.
Collaboration, networking, domestic and international relations
Advisory body
In Table 3.4, Respondent 2 indicated that the existence of an advisory body institutionalises the collaboration in which she and Respondent 1 participate to advise
the municipality on coastal matters. Here we get the first hint that the municipality
invites experts to advise it on matters pertaining to the local government’s knowledge
capability.
This form of collaboration, together with the cooperative relationships that eThekwini has formed with other local and international research bodies over the years,
relates to the theory of interactive governance. On interactive governance, Kooiman
et al. (2008: 1) noted that:
Governance in its broad sense suggests that not only the state but also market and civil society
have prominent roles in the governing of modern societies, from local to international levels.
Interactive governance highlights the interactions between entities belonging to these social
parties.
In an earlier publication Kooiman et al. (2005, cited in Mahon 2008) defined
interactive governance as ‘…the whole of public, as well as private, interactions
that are initiated to solve societal problems and create societal opportunities’. A
related concept to interactive governance is governability, or the ‘governance status
of a societal sector or system such as a…coastal region, as a whole’ (Kooiman
et al. 2008: 1). We recognise three features of interactive governance and governability throughout eThekwini’s green and ecological infrastructure policy landscape,
namely, the system that is to be governed, its governing system and the governance
interactions (Kooiman et al. 2008; Mahon 2008). The typical features of a governance system include diversity, complexity and dynamics (Mahon 2008). The overall
system to be governed are eThekwini’s green and ecological infrastructures, with,
for instance, the advisory body governing matters pertaining to the coast, as well as
the governance system, which manifests itself in the form of municipal officials who
collaborate with researchers from other entities. It is within this arrangement that we
see a diverse and complex set of local and international actors, and a dynamism that
spans not only the actors’ relations but also the natural processes and international
boundaries (see below).
Contracted research and DRAP
The eThekwini municipality has also established research relationships by
contracting scholars and consultants to investigate specific issues and to develop
133
In this section, I will discuss eThekwini’s green and ecological infrastructure initiatives through the lens of liberal institutionalism. Table 3.4 is an elaboration of the
theory’s assumptions and how they are manifested in the respondent’s answers. From
Table 3.4, we can see that several themes or topics stand out, namely, collaboration,
networking and interdependent domestic and international relations, the commodification of nature, competition, domestic politics and policies, functionalism, interest
group pluralism and organs of state.
Collaboration, networking, domestic and international relations
Advisory body
In Table 3.4, Respondent 2 indicated that the existence of an advisory body institutionalises the collaboration in which she and Respondent 1 participate to advise
the municipality on coastal matters. Here we get the first hint that the municipality
invites experts to advise it on matters pertaining to the local government’s knowledge
capability.
This form of collaboration, together with the cooperative relationships that eThekwini has formed with other local and international research bodies over the years,
relates to the theory of interactive governance. On interactive governance, Kooiman
et al. (2008: 1) noted that:
Governance in its broad sense suggests that not only the state but also market and civil society
have prominent roles in the governing of modern societies, from local to international levels.
Interactive governance highlights the interactions between entities belonging to these social
parties.
In an earlier publication Kooiman et al. (2005, cited in Mahon 2008) defined
interactive governance as ‘…the whole of public, as well as private, interactions
that are initiated to solve societal problems and create societal opportunities’. A
related concept to interactive governance is governability, or the ‘governance status
of a societal sector or system such as a…coastal region, as a whole’ (Kooiman
et al. 2008: 1). We recognise three features of interactive governance and governability throughout eThekwini’s green and ecological infrastructure policy landscape,
namely, the system that is to be governed, its governing system and the governance
interactions (Kooiman et al. 2008; Mahon 2008). The typical features of a governance system include diversity, complexity and dynamics (Mahon 2008). The overall
system to be governed are eThekwini’s green and ecological infrastructures, with,
for instance, the advisory body governing matters pertaining to the coast, as well as
the governance system, which manifests itself in the form of municipal officials who
collaborate with researchers from other entities. It is within this arrangement that we
see a diverse and complex set of local and international actors, and a dynamism that
spans not only the actors’ relations but also the natural processes and international
boundaries (see below).
Contracted research and DRAP
The eThekwini municipality has also established research relationships by
contracting scholars and consultants to investigate specific issues and to develop