A tragedy of errors? Institutional dynamics and land tenure in Finnmark, Norway
Reindeer herding in Finnmark has been widely perceived during the last few decades as a perfect example of the tragedy of the commons. The present article claims that this discourse relies on flawed assumption regarding land tenure. Our historical analysis of the term ‘common’ in relation to resourc...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:f79c38f04d104459b7d360aa66c4c099 2023-05-15T16:13:35+02:00 A tragedy of errors? Institutional dynamics and land tenure in Finnmark, Norway Andrei Marin Ivar Bjørklund 2015-03-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.18352/ijc.586 https://doaj.org/article/f79c38f04d104459b7d360aa66c4c099 EN eng Utrecht University Library Open Access Journals (Publishing Services) https://www.thecommonsjournal.org/articles/586 https://doaj.org/toc/1875-0281 1875-0281 doi:10.18352/ijc.586 https://doaj.org/article/f79c38f04d104459b7d360aa66c4c099 International Journal of the Commons, Vol 9, Iss 1, Pp 19-40 (2015) institutional bargaining institutional layering institutional bricolage reindeer commons ilo land tenure Political institutions and public administration (General) JF20-2112 article 2015 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.18352/ijc.586 2022-12-31T15:00:31Z Reindeer herding in Finnmark has been widely perceived during the last few decades as a perfect example of the tragedy of the commons. The present article claims that this discourse relies on flawed assumption regarding land tenure. Our historical analysis of the term ‘common’ in relation to resources in Finnmark shows the term to reflect a misunderstanding of local categories, practices, and concerns related to pastures, territories, and natural resources more generally. In this sense, it exposes a case of ‘mistaken identity’ between the formal legal conception of ‘commons’ and the customary rules and thinking of reindeer herders. We turn to different strands of critical institutionalism to analyse the processes of institutional change that have allowed these errors and misunderstandings to be formalised and naturalised in the current governance system. We show that a process of institutional bargaining between the Norwegian Parliament, the Sámi Parliament, and the International Labour Organisation has recently re-enforced an alien conception of a ‘commons’ to which ambiguous groups of people have equivocal rights. In parallel, a process of institutional layering of new regulatory actors and rules on top of existing ones has taken place. This regulatory ratcheting has resulted in the blurring of the authorities and jurisdictions intrinsic in the customary tenure system. Moreover, the new layers of regulations have actively overemphasized the Sámi customary obligation of sharing resources to legitimize the new, ambiguous, conception of commons. This process is explained as one of institutional bricolage based on naturalisation by analogy and authority processes that allow certain powerful actors to influence the production of institutional arrangements favourable to them. All three processes underline the negotiated, dynamic nature of institutional change. We propose this integrative analysis of institutional and general social dynamics is beneficial in studying commons as everyday practices affecting natural ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Finnmark Sámi Finnmark Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Norway International Journal of the Commons 9 1 19 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
institutional bargaining institutional layering institutional bricolage reindeer commons ilo land tenure Political institutions and public administration (General) JF20-2112 |
spellingShingle |
institutional bargaining institutional layering institutional bricolage reindeer commons ilo land tenure Political institutions and public administration (General) JF20-2112 Andrei Marin Ivar Bjørklund A tragedy of errors? Institutional dynamics and land tenure in Finnmark, Norway |
topic_facet |
institutional bargaining institutional layering institutional bricolage reindeer commons ilo land tenure Political institutions and public administration (General) JF20-2112 |
description |
Reindeer herding in Finnmark has been widely perceived during the last few decades as a perfect example of the tragedy of the commons. The present article claims that this discourse relies on flawed assumption regarding land tenure. Our historical analysis of the term ‘common’ in relation to resources in Finnmark shows the term to reflect a misunderstanding of local categories, practices, and concerns related to pastures, territories, and natural resources more generally. In this sense, it exposes a case of ‘mistaken identity’ between the formal legal conception of ‘commons’ and the customary rules and thinking of reindeer herders. We turn to different strands of critical institutionalism to analyse the processes of institutional change that have allowed these errors and misunderstandings to be formalised and naturalised in the current governance system. We show that a process of institutional bargaining between the Norwegian Parliament, the Sámi Parliament, and the International Labour Organisation has recently re-enforced an alien conception of a ‘commons’ to which ambiguous groups of people have equivocal rights. In parallel, a process of institutional layering of new regulatory actors and rules on top of existing ones has taken place. This regulatory ratcheting has resulted in the blurring of the authorities and jurisdictions intrinsic in the customary tenure system. Moreover, the new layers of regulations have actively overemphasized the Sámi customary obligation of sharing resources to legitimize the new, ambiguous, conception of commons. This process is explained as one of institutional bricolage based on naturalisation by analogy and authority processes that allow certain powerful actors to influence the production of institutional arrangements favourable to them. All three processes underline the negotiated, dynamic nature of institutional change. We propose this integrative analysis of institutional and general social dynamics is beneficial in studying commons as everyday practices affecting natural ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Andrei Marin Ivar Bjørklund |
author_facet |
Andrei Marin Ivar Bjørklund |
author_sort |
Andrei Marin |
title |
A tragedy of errors? Institutional dynamics and land tenure in Finnmark, Norway |
title_short |
A tragedy of errors? Institutional dynamics and land tenure in Finnmark, Norway |
title_full |
A tragedy of errors? Institutional dynamics and land tenure in Finnmark, Norway |
title_fullStr |
A tragedy of errors? Institutional dynamics and land tenure in Finnmark, Norway |
title_full_unstemmed |
A tragedy of errors? Institutional dynamics and land tenure in Finnmark, Norway |
title_sort |
tragedy of errors? institutional dynamics and land tenure in finnmark, norway |
publisher |
Utrecht University Library Open Access Journals (Publishing Services) |
publishDate |
2015 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.18352/ijc.586 https://doaj.org/article/f79c38f04d104459b7d360aa66c4c099 |
geographic |
Norway |
geographic_facet |
Norway |
genre |
Finnmark Sámi Finnmark |
genre_facet |
Finnmark Sámi Finnmark |
op_source |
International Journal of the Commons, Vol 9, Iss 1, Pp 19-40 (2015) |
op_relation |
https://www.thecommonsjournal.org/articles/586 https://doaj.org/toc/1875-0281 1875-0281 doi:10.18352/ijc.586 https://doaj.org/article/f79c38f04d104459b7d360aa66c4c099 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.18352/ijc.586 |
container_title |
International Journal of the Commons |
container_volume |
9 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
19 |
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1765999375040905216 |