13
2 Theorizing Governability – The Interactive Governance Perspective
complex adaptive systems in which unpredictability is a key factor (Mahon et al.
2008 ) . External factors are also beyond the control of governors. A Marine Protected
Area (MPA) may therefore be well-governed, but still lack suf fi cient governability
due to the interference of outside disturbances (Jentoft et al. 2007, 2012 ) .
Governability thus comes not only with limitations but also with vacillating potentialities. It is therefore argued that the act of governing necessitates fl exibility and
learning, and must account for the possibility of disappointment and failure.
Societal Systems
Systems theory has a rich pedigree, both in the natural and in the social sciences. Recent
attention for issues of complexity, chaos and resilience has contributed to a resurgence
of interest in this academic stream. In the fi eld of fi sheries, for example, scholars are now
making fruitful use of complex adapted systems theory (Rammel 2007 ) .
In the following, we use the systems concept as a heuristic tool, without teleological or functional connotations. A general and, for our purposes, workable
de fi nition of a societal system is the whole of interrelations among a given number
of entities belonging to the natural and social worlds (Kooiman et al. 2008 ) . This
formulation contains the notion that systems can be circumscribed in different ways
and at different scale levels. Moreover, it contends that no one approach is intrinsically better than another. Instead we suggest that the designation of a system’s contours depends on the nature of the research enquiry.
Irrespective of the way we de fi ne systems, they are always part of larger events
and structures. It is therefore useful to conceive of systems as divisions of other
entities rather than solitary units. A particular capture fi shery is nested within a
Fig. 2.1 Interactive governance perspective of a societal system
2 Theorizing Governability – The Interactive Governance Perspective
complex adaptive systems in which unpredictability is a key factor (Mahon et al.
2008 ) . External factors are also beyond the control of governors. A Marine Protected
Area (MPA) may therefore be well-governed, but still lack suf fi cient governability
due to the interference of outside disturbances (Jentoft et al. 2007, 2012 ) .
Governability thus comes not only with limitations but also with vacillating potentialities. It is therefore argued that the act of governing necessitates fl exibility and
learning, and must account for the possibility of disappointment and failure.
Societal Systems
Systems theory has a rich pedigree, both in the natural and in the social sciences. Recent
attention for issues of complexity, chaos and resilience has contributed to a resurgence
of interest in this academic stream. In the fi eld of fi sheries, for example, scholars are now
making fruitful use of complex adapted systems theory (Rammel 2007 ) .
In the following, we use the systems concept as a heuristic tool, without teleological or functional connotations. A general and, for our purposes, workable
de fi nition of a societal system is the whole of interrelations among a given number
of entities belonging to the natural and social worlds (Kooiman et al. 2008 ) . This
formulation contains the notion that systems can be circumscribed in different ways
and at different scale levels. Moreover, it contends that no one approach is intrinsically better than another. Instead we suggest that the designation of a system’s contours depends on the nature of the research enquiry.
Irrespective of the way we de fi ne systems, they are always part of larger events
and structures. It is therefore useful to conceive of systems as divisions of other
entities rather than solitary units. A particular capture fi shery is nested within a
Fig. 2.1 Interactive governance perspective of a societal system