354
J. Kooiman
in both natural and human affairs. On a less abstract level, interest in the diversity,
heterogeneity and difference of the social and cultural realm has begun to parallel
interest in ecological diversity. One sees for example values converge because of
media such as television and the Internet. At the same time, regional and local cultures are (re-)discovered all over, often combined with efforts aimed at political
autonomy. Although societal systems cannot live without diversity, a certain measure of uniformity in inter-human interactions is needed as well. Unlimited diversity
may become counter-productive, as the similarities needed for communication
decrease rapidly. The different sides of diversity result in a constant tension between
the freedom of action and expression, on the one hand, and the rules and customs to
which these actions and expressions need to comply on the other. This tension is a
challenge for governance and an important factor in fl uencing governability.
From a governance and governability point of view, there are not many ways to
deal with diversity (Kooiman 2003 ) . The method typically used is one that attempts
categorize or bring order. However, this not as neutral a governing activity as is
often thought: top-down categorization is based on value choices that are frequently
hidden. What is needed here instead is inter-action, understood to be a recurrent
process in which those ordered or categorized participate.
We must be careful in analysing diversity as a feature of fi sheries and an aspect
in governability. As far as the natural system is concerned, the observer generally
highlights eco-system diversity, where at least two variables play a role, the number of species and the variety of their characteristics (Chap. 7 ). For socio-economic
diversity, the story is somewhat different. In Chap. 5 , for example, the diversity of
fi shing livelihoods is seen as multi-dimensional. Variables such as mobility, gender
relations of work, degree of subsistence and technology, to name but a few, play a
key role. Each of these variables, in turn, possesses a world of diversity in and of
themselves. If we raise the analysis to the level of the diversity of whole systems,
the importance of the micro-macro dimension of governability becomes apparent.
Detailed case studies of Marine Protected Areas (Chap. 12 ), demonstrate the potential
diversity of a socio-ecological fi shery system, its governing system and the interactions between them. The macro study of salmon aquaculture (Chap. 11 ), on the
other hand, indicates that the diversity of these systems varies in a comparative and
synthetic perspective. The more these analytical activities are based on theoretical
notions of what diversity might mean or stand for and the more they are conducted
together with those concerned, the better the role of diversity for the governability
in fi sheries can be explained.
Complexity
As a concept complexity remains elusive. The distinction between ‘simple’ and
‘complex’ is not as sharp as we might intuitively expect. What may appear complex may turn out just to be complicated (a machine), and what appears simple
may be immensely complex (the leaf of a tree) (Cilliers 1998 ) . In a systems sense,
J. Kooiman
in both natural and human affairs. On a less abstract level, interest in the diversity,
heterogeneity and difference of the social and cultural realm has begun to parallel
interest in ecological diversity. One sees for example values converge because of
media such as television and the Internet. At the same time, regional and local cultures are (re-)discovered all over, often combined with efforts aimed at political
autonomy. Although societal systems cannot live without diversity, a certain measure of uniformity in inter-human interactions is needed as well. Unlimited diversity
may become counter-productive, as the similarities needed for communication
decrease rapidly. The different sides of diversity result in a constant tension between
the freedom of action and expression, on the one hand, and the rules and customs to
which these actions and expressions need to comply on the other. This tension is a
challenge for governance and an important factor in fl uencing governability.
From a governance and governability point of view, there are not many ways to
deal with diversity (Kooiman 2003 ) . The method typically used is one that attempts
categorize or bring order. However, this not as neutral a governing activity as is
often thought: top-down categorization is based on value choices that are frequently
hidden. What is needed here instead is inter-action, understood to be a recurrent
process in which those ordered or categorized participate.
We must be careful in analysing diversity as a feature of fi sheries and an aspect
in governability. As far as the natural system is concerned, the observer generally
highlights eco-system diversity, where at least two variables play a role, the number of species and the variety of their characteristics (Chap. 7 ). For socio-economic
diversity, the story is somewhat different. In Chap. 5 , for example, the diversity of
fi shing livelihoods is seen as multi-dimensional. Variables such as mobility, gender
relations of work, degree of subsistence and technology, to name but a few, play a
key role. Each of these variables, in turn, possesses a world of diversity in and of
themselves. If we raise the analysis to the level of the diversity of whole systems,
the importance of the micro-macro dimension of governability becomes apparent.
Detailed case studies of Marine Protected Areas (Chap. 12 ), demonstrate the potential
diversity of a socio-ecological fi shery system, its governing system and the interactions between them. The macro study of salmon aquaculture (Chap. 11 ), on the
other hand, indicates that the diversity of these systems varies in a comparative and
synthetic perspective. The more these analytical activities are based on theoretical
notions of what diversity might mean or stand for and the more they are conducted
together with those concerned, the better the role of diversity for the governability
in fi sheries can be explained.
Complexity
As a concept complexity remains elusive. The distinction between ‘simple’ and
‘complex’ is not as sharp as we might intuitively expect. What may appear complex may turn out just to be complicated (a machine), and what appears simple
may be immensely complex (the leaf of a tree) (Cilliers 1998 ) . In a systems sense,