3.5 Practice Theory as a Direction-Finding Beacon
201
away from scholarly work that is dedicated solely to structures and materiality, as
well as their implications for governance and politics (Pouliot and Thérien 2018).
Said differently, practice theory focuses more attention on the individual doings
within the realm of governance and politics, which are constituted by structures
and materiality. To reiterate, practice theory amalgamates the empiricism of agential and material causal instruments with the normativity of ideational and structural
mechanisms, which are elements that are identified in the PULSE
3 analysis.
Practice theory indicates the dual and symbiotic dynamism between the processes
and contexts in which individuals play a central role, and it is also relational and
views the world as a combination of practices. For practice theory, the nature of
reality (ontology) is relational, which means that it does not view reality as a clear
distinction between the causation of agency and materiality, ideas and structure
(Bueger and Gadinger 2015). This notion, or relationalism, resonates with the argument of Reus-Smit and Snidal (2008) that theory is simultaneously both empirical
and normative and that it informs the activities of practitioners. The combination of
actions, or the things that people do, constitutes the social context. The actions are
interdependent to such an extent that one action becomes the foundation or wellspring for another performance, which constitutes the causal mechanisms within
a certain activity realm. That said, practices beget practices via paradigms, theories, causal mechanisms and problem-solving and critical theory types. Should we
become sensitive to practice theory, we could find ‘…remedy for a number of problems left unsolved by other traditions, especially the tendency of describing the world
in terms of irreducible dualisms between actor/system, social/material, body/mind
and theory/action’ (Nicolini 2012: 2). Practices frame public policy processes when
these actions create a baseline for political debates, as well as actor interactions
(Pouliot and Thérien 2018). It is here where analytic eclecticism makes a valuable
contribution (Sil and Katzenstein 2010; Meissner 2017) because of its ontological
and epistemological pluralism, as it creates a cross-over between reducible dualisms.
Therefore, practice theory rejects dichotomies as a method of theorising (Feldman
and Orlikowski 2011).
In order to further enrich the discussion of the policy landscape in the following
sections, I will discuss one element that stood out during the analysis, namely, activity,
performance or work, and how it illuminates eThekwini’s green and ecological
infrastructures. This assumption emphasises the role of the individual in executing
practices, as well as the knowledge that is necessary to perform activities or work.
The municipality’s initiatives are replete with practices and various practice-related
activities or actions, like establishing partnerships and the advancement of both
infrastructure types.
Activity, performance or work
The focal point of practice theory is the importance of activity, performance and
work, which create and preserve social life and all its aspects, as has already been
mentioned, and its social structures (Nicolini 2012). Practice is performance, the
process of doing something, or the ‘…active social forces making and remaking the
world’ (Adler and Pouliot 2011, cited in Pouliot and Thérien 2018: 3). We cannot
201
away from scholarly work that is dedicated solely to structures and materiality, as
well as their implications for governance and politics (Pouliot and Thérien 2018).
Said differently, practice theory focuses more attention on the individual doings
within the realm of governance and politics, which are constituted by structures
and materiality. To reiterate, practice theory amalgamates the empiricism of agential and material causal instruments with the normativity of ideational and structural
mechanisms, which are elements that are identified in the PULSE
3 analysis.
Practice theory indicates the dual and symbiotic dynamism between the processes
and contexts in which individuals play a central role, and it is also relational and
views the world as a combination of practices. For practice theory, the nature of
reality (ontology) is relational, which means that it does not view reality as a clear
distinction between the causation of agency and materiality, ideas and structure
(Bueger and Gadinger 2015). This notion, or relationalism, resonates with the argument of Reus-Smit and Snidal (2008) that theory is simultaneously both empirical
and normative and that it informs the activities of practitioners. The combination of
actions, or the things that people do, constitutes the social context. The actions are
interdependent to such an extent that one action becomes the foundation or wellspring for another performance, which constitutes the causal mechanisms within
a certain activity realm. That said, practices beget practices via paradigms, theories, causal mechanisms and problem-solving and critical theory types. Should we
become sensitive to practice theory, we could find ‘…remedy for a number of problems left unsolved by other traditions, especially the tendency of describing the world
in terms of irreducible dualisms between actor/system, social/material, body/mind
and theory/action’ (Nicolini 2012: 2). Practices frame public policy processes when
these actions create a baseline for political debates, as well as actor interactions
(Pouliot and Thérien 2018). It is here where analytic eclecticism makes a valuable
contribution (Sil and Katzenstein 2010; Meissner 2017) because of its ontological
and epistemological pluralism, as it creates a cross-over between reducible dualisms.
Therefore, practice theory rejects dichotomies as a method of theorising (Feldman
and Orlikowski 2011).
In order to further enrich the discussion of the policy landscape in the following
sections, I will discuss one element that stood out during the analysis, namely, activity,
performance or work, and how it illuminates eThekwini’s green and ecological
infrastructures. This assumption emphasises the role of the individual in executing
practices, as well as the knowledge that is necessary to perform activities or work.
The municipality’s initiatives are replete with practices and various practice-related
activities or actions, like establishing partnerships and the advancement of both
infrastructure types.
Activity, performance or work
The focal point of practice theory is the importance of activity, performance and
work, which create and preserve social life and all its aspects, as has already been
mentioned, and its social structures (Nicolini 2012). Practice is performance, the
process of doing something, or the ‘…active social forces making and remaking the
world’ (Adler and Pouliot 2011, cited in Pouliot and Thérien 2018: 3). We cannot