Shared patterns in long-term dynamics of commons as institutions for collective action

Journal Article (2020)
Author(s)

Mike Farjam (Linnaeus University)

Tine De Moor (Universiteit Utrecht)

René Van Weeren (Universiteit Utrecht)

Anders Forsman (Linnaeus University)

Molood Ale Ebrahim Dehkordi (TU Delft - Energy and Industry)

Amineh Ghorbani (TU Delft - Energy and Industry)

Giangiacomo Bravo (Linnaeus University)

Research Group
Energy and Industry
Copyright
© 2020 Mike Farjam, Tine De Moor, René van Weeren, Anders Forsman, Molood Ale Ebrahim Dehkordi, Amineh Ghorbani, Giangiacomo Bravo
DOI related publication
https://doi.org/10.5334/ijc.959
More Info
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Publication Year
2020
Language
English
Copyright
© 2020 Mike Farjam, Tine De Moor, René van Weeren, Anders Forsman, Molood Ale Ebrahim Dehkordi, Amineh Ghorbani, Giangiacomo Bravo
Research Group
Energy and Industry
Issue number
1
Volume number
14
Pages (from-to)
78-90
Reuse Rights

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Abstract

We present an analysis of regulatory activities in historical commons offering a unique picture of their long-term institutional dynamics. The analysis took into account almost 3,800 regulatory activities in eighteen European commons in two countries across seven centuries. Despite differences in time and space, we found a shared pattern where an initial, highly-dynamic institutional-definition phase was followed by a relatively long period of stability and a final burst of activities, possibly in an attempt to respond to new challenges. In addition, most of the initial regulatory activities focused on resource use, while towards the end other activities prevailed. Our approach allows for a better understanding of institutional dynamics and our findings also provide important insights about how to regulate the use of current natural resources.