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Beyond Regulation: Innovative Strategies for Governing Large Complex Systems

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  • Oran R. Young

    (Bren School of Environmental Science and Management, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106-5131, USA)

Abstract

We have entered an era characterized by levels of complexity that are unprecedented in human experience. The hallmarks of complex systems are the growth of connectivity, the prominence of nonlinear patterns of change, the occurrence of bifurcations in contrast to oscillations, and frequent surprises associated with emergent properties. There are good reasons to question the adequacy of the standard repertory of practices associated with regulatory strategies in efforts to fulfill needs for governance in complex systems. Whereas regulatory strategies feature the articulation of rules expected to remain in place indefinitely and emphasize efforts to maximize compliance with the rules, governing complex systems calls for a willingness to experiment with innovative practices in the face of uncertainty and a capacity to adapt existing practices easily to new circumstances. It is helpful in this connection to distinguish between Type I governance, which is a matter of devising supplementary practices to augment rather than to replace regulatory measures in managing volatile oscillations, and Type II governance, which is a matter of devising new governance strategies to address needs for governance arising during periods of transformation and in the settings that become the new normal following major state changes. There is no need to discard familiar regulatory strategies. Rather, the challenge is to devise innovative steering mechanisms to augment the existing toolkit to meet needs for governance in the 21st century.

Suggested Citation

  • Oran R. Young, 2017. "Beyond Regulation: Innovative Strategies for Governing Large Complex Systems," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(6), pages 1-12, June.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:9:y:2017:i:6:p:938-:d:100311
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Alessandro Piazza, 2021. "Collective Responsibility in the Cooperative Governance of Climate Change," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-18, April.
    2. Oran R. Young & Olav Schram Stokke, 2020. "Why is it hard to solve environmental problems? The perils of institutional reductionism and institutional overload," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 20(1), pages 5-19, March.
    3. Andreas Endl, 2017. "Addressing “Wicked Problems” through Governance for Sustainable Development—A Comparative Analysis of National Mineral Policy Approaches in the European Union," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(10), pages 1-22, October.
    4. Ilkhom Soliev & Insa Theesfeld, 2017. "Reframing for Sustainability: Exploring Transformative Power of Benefit Sharing," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(8), pages 1-23, August.
    5. Gudrun Erla Jonsdottir & Throstur Olaf Sigurjonsson & Ahmad Rahnema Alavi & Jordan Mitchell, 2021. "Applying Responsible Ownership to Advance SDGs and the ESG Framework, Resulting in the Issuance of Green Bonds," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(13), pages 1-20, June.
    6. Fikret Berkes & Huei-Min Tsai & Mucahid Mustafa Bayrak & Yih-Ren Lin, 2021. "Indigenous Resilience to Disasters in Taiwan and Beyond," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-17, February.
    7. Fikret Berkes, 2017. "Environmental Governance for the Anthropocene? Social-Ecological Systems, Resilience, and Collaborative Learning," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(7), pages 1-12, July.
    8. Michael Schoon & Michael E. Cox, 2018. "Collaboration, Adaptation, and Scaling: Perspectives on Environmental Governance for Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-9, March.

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