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To See, or Not to See, That Is the Question: Studying Dutch Experimentalist Energy Transition Governance through an Evolutionary Lens

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  • Martijn Gerritsen

    (Center for Urban and Regional Research, Department of Geography, Planning & Environment, Nijmegen School of Management, Radboud University Nijmegen, 6525 AJ Nijmegen, The Netherlands)

  • Henk-Jan Kooij

    (Center for Urban and Regional Research, Department of Geography, Planning & Environment, Nijmegen School of Management, Radboud University Nijmegen, 6525 AJ Nijmegen, The Netherlands)

  • Martijn Groenleer

    (Tilburg Center for Regional Law and Governance, Department of Public Law and Governance, Tilburg Law School, Tilburg University, 5037 AB Tilburg, The Netherlands)

  • Erwin van der Krabben

    (Center for Urban and Regional Research, Department of Geography, Planning & Environment, Nijmegen School of Management, Radboud University Nijmegen, 6525 AJ Nijmegen, The Netherlands)

Abstract

Experimentalist forms of governance have burgeoned across policy areas and institutional contexts in recent years. Recognizing that experimentalist forms of governance can evolve along a plethora of distinct pathways, this paper inquires how the evolutionary nature of experimentalism can be explored in greater depth. Linking the framework of experimentalist governance to that of Evolutionary Governance Theory (EGT), the paper identifies three driving mechanisms of contingency in experimentalism: governance being (1) self-referential, (2) rooted in observation, and (3) steered by dependencies. The paper then refers to recent efforts in the realm of energy transition governance in the Netherlands to illustrate how these contingency mechanisms can help to interrogate the variegated evolutionary pathways that experimentalist governance may have in practice. Building on this Dutch empirical context, the paper puts forward evolutionary path- and context-mapping as a fruitful tool for identifying and disentangling the myriad of pathways along which experimentalism may manifest itself.

Suggested Citation

  • Martijn Gerritsen & Henk-Jan Kooij & Martijn Groenleer & Erwin van der Krabben, 2022. "To See, or Not to See, That Is the Question: Studying Dutch Experimentalist Energy Transition Governance through an Evolutionary Lens," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(3), pages 1-18, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:3:p:1540-:d:736925
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Kristof van Assche & Raoul Beunen & Martijn Duineveld, 2014. "Evolutionary Governance Theory," SpringerBriefs in Economics, Springer, edition 127, number 978-3-319-00984-1, October.
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    1. Kristof Van Assche & Monica Gruezmacher & Raoul Beunen, 2022. "Why Governance Is Never Perfect: Co-Evolution in Environmental Policy and Governance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-7, August.

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