In this paper, we revisit the utility of the concepts of path dependence and interdependence for ... more In this paper, we revisit the utility of the concepts of path dependence and interdependence for the analysis of participatory environmental governance. We investigate the evolution of environmental governance in the Romanian Danube Delta, and, starting from an observation of problematic citizen participation, demonstrate how specific patterns of path and interdependence shaped both the present situation and the reform options. For the Delta, it is argued that direct citizen participation, without working with other institutions, would not solve the problems observed, but would rather reinforce unwanted informal institutions. Theoretically, we utilise a combination of path dependence theory and social systems theory, allowing a grasp of both rigidity and flexibility in the evolution of governance systems. Empirically, expert and lay interviews, long-term observation and analysis of policy documents underpin our analysis.
Abstract This article investigates the process of social forgetting by relating it to the disinte... more Abstract This article investigates the process of social forgetting by relating it to the disintegration of social and spatial networks. Looking at the case of Sulina, a small town on the eastern edge of the Romanian Danube Delta, we analyze how the unraveling of networks caused a process of social forgetting with margin-specific features, a fundamental restructuring of social memory and social identities. An important focus of our investigation is the connection between social memory and spatial planning, as a coordinated effort to ...
Studia Universitatis Babes Bolyai-Politica, Jan 1, 2010
This paper intends to develop a theoretical framework for the analysis of nature- culture relatio... more This paper intends to develop a theoretical framework for the analysis of nature- culture relations and their policy implications, with a special emphasis on spatial planning policies. It draws heavily on Niklas Luhmann’s social systems theory, borrowing its key concepts from him: system, environment, de- differentiation, decoupling, de-paradoxification, autopoiesis. Systems theory is used to deepen the understanding of actual and desirable policy- making in Romania’s Danube Delta area, a region marked by high attributed natural values, a remarkable cultural complexity, high pressures on culture and nature, an instable emerging democracy. It is argued that western notions of state, planning, nature, single land use, democracy, economy potentially cause more trouble in this area than in the west itself. And that a self- organizing democratic system, informed by natural and social sciences, is a prerequisite for whatever ecologically inspired policy. In such a system, a post- modern planning administration, combining many images of nature and culture, and accepting multiple land use, should find its place.
Идентитети: Списание за политика, род и култура, Jan 1, 2008
Using the small Romanian town of Sulina as a case- study, the authors explore the mutual construc... more Using the small Romanian town of Sulina as a case- study, the authors explore the mutual construction of personal and group narrative in a locale that experienced dramatic change and marginalization. It is argued that individuals shape their identity narratives in an ongoing dialectics between personal experience and group narrative. A powerful master- narrative, focusing on one glorified period in the town’s existence, is identified. The authors analyze the construction and functioning of the master- narrative, its constant re- validation, favorable conditions for its continued existence, counter- narratives, and individual negotiations with both master- and counter-narratives. Continuously reconstructed memories are seen as the prime resources for the elaboration of narrative.
Building on recent research in political geography, anthropology and the reinvented field of bord... more Building on recent research in political geography, anthropology and the reinvented field of border studies, we investigate the present (re‐)construction of borders and boundaries in the Romanian Danube Delta, in connection with the permanent reconstruction of identities. Conceptual boundaries, social boundaries and spatial boundaries are approached as intertwined and interconnected. The Danube Delta, we argue, is historically an ambiguous area, a hybrid of centre and margin. This history left its mark on the present mechanisms of boundary formation, identification and marginalization. Boundaries create margins, and they can create border territories. The metaphor of landscape as palimpsest is borrowed from Claude Raffestin to synthesize the notions introduced on boundaries and identities.
In this paper, we revisit the utility of the concepts of path dependence and interdependence for ... more In this paper, we revisit the utility of the concepts of path dependence and interdependence for the analysis of participatory environmental governance. We investigate the evolution of environmental governance in the Romanian Danube Delta, and, starting from an observation of problematic citizen participation, demonstrate how specific patterns of path and interdependence shaped both the present situation and the reform options. For the Delta, it is argued that direct citizen participation, without working with other institutions, would not solve the problems observed, but would rather reinforce unwanted informal institutions. Theoretically, we utilise a combination of path dependence theory and social systems theory, allowing a grasp of both rigidity and flexibility in the evolution of governance systems. Empirically, expert and lay interviews, long-term observation and analysis of policy documents underpin our analysis.
Abstract This article investigates the process of social forgetting by relating it to the disinte... more Abstract This article investigates the process of social forgetting by relating it to the disintegration of social and spatial networks. Looking at the case of Sulina, a small town on the eastern edge of the Romanian Danube Delta, we analyze how the unraveling of networks caused a process of social forgetting with margin-specific features, a fundamental restructuring of social memory and social identities. An important focus of our investigation is the connection between social memory and spatial planning, as a coordinated effort to ...
Studia Universitatis Babes Bolyai-Politica, Jan 1, 2010
This paper intends to develop a theoretical framework for the analysis of nature- culture relatio... more This paper intends to develop a theoretical framework for the analysis of nature- culture relations and their policy implications, with a special emphasis on spatial planning policies. It draws heavily on Niklas Luhmann’s social systems theory, borrowing its key concepts from him: system, environment, de- differentiation, decoupling, de-paradoxification, autopoiesis. Systems theory is used to deepen the understanding of actual and desirable policy- making in Romania’s Danube Delta area, a region marked by high attributed natural values, a remarkable cultural complexity, high pressures on culture and nature, an instable emerging democracy. It is argued that western notions of state, planning, nature, single land use, democracy, economy potentially cause more trouble in this area than in the west itself. And that a self- organizing democratic system, informed by natural and social sciences, is a prerequisite for whatever ecologically inspired policy. In such a system, a post- modern planning administration, combining many images of nature and culture, and accepting multiple land use, should find its place.
Идентитети: Списание за политика, род и култура, Jan 1, 2008
Using the small Romanian town of Sulina as a case- study, the authors explore the mutual construc... more Using the small Romanian town of Sulina as a case- study, the authors explore the mutual construction of personal and group narrative in a locale that experienced dramatic change and marginalization. It is argued that individuals shape their identity narratives in an ongoing dialectics between personal experience and group narrative. A powerful master- narrative, focusing on one glorified period in the town’s existence, is identified. The authors analyze the construction and functioning of the master- narrative, its constant re- validation, favorable conditions for its continued existence, counter- narratives, and individual negotiations with both master- and counter-narratives. Continuously reconstructed memories are seen as the prime resources for the elaboration of narrative.
Building on recent research in political geography, anthropology and the reinvented field of bord... more Building on recent research in political geography, anthropology and the reinvented field of border studies, we investigate the present (re‐)construction of borders and boundaries in the Romanian Danube Delta, in connection with the permanent reconstruction of identities. Conceptual boundaries, social boundaries and spatial boundaries are approached as intertwined and interconnected. The Danube Delta, we argue, is historically an ambiguous area, a hybrid of centre and margin. This history left its mark on the present mechanisms of boundary formation, identification and marginalization. Boundaries create margins, and they can create border territories. The metaphor of landscape as palimpsest is borrowed from Claude Raffestin to synthesize the notions introduced on boundaries and identities.
In this paper, we adopt a Foucauldian perspective on power/knowledge interactions to investigate ... more In this paper, we adopt a Foucauldian perspective on power/knowledge interactions to investigate the evolution and implementation of policy for the Romanian Danube delta. We argue that a better understanding of the potential for citizen participation in environmental governance can be obtained from a careful analysis of the pathways of emergence, enactment and implementation of policies affecting an area. Policies are seen as temporary conceptual structures coordinating knowledge and power, in constant transmutation because of the confrontation with other power/knowledge configurations. For the Danube delta, it is argued that policies originating at various levels of government co-create a 'local' that is scrutinized, silenced, exoticized, subjugated and marginalized. Finally, we investigate the implications of this and similar processes of delineation of actors for participatory natural resource governance.
In this paper, we adopt a Foucauldian perspective on power/knowledge interactions to investigate ... more In this paper, we adopt a Foucauldian perspective on power/knowledge interactions to investigate the evolution and implementation of policy for the Romanian Danube delta. We argue that a better understanding of the potential for citizen participation in environmental governance can be obtained from a careful analysis of the pathways of emergence, enactment and implementation of policies affecting an area. Policies are seen as temporary conceptual structures coordinating knowledge and power, in constant transmutation because of the confrontation with other power/knowledge configurations. For the Danube delta, it is argued that policies originating at various levels of government co-create a ‘local’ that is scrutinized, silenced, exoticized, subjugated and marginalized. Finally, we investigate the implications of this and similar processes of delineation of actors for participatory natural resource governance.
Uploads
Papers by Petruta Teampau