Co-Governance and Resilience Justice

Abstract

In co-governance, governance authority and management responsibility for resources, environments, or infrastructure are shared by the government and communities. Distinct institutions of co-governance emerge and evolve from the grassroots struggles of marginalized and oppressed communities for justice, empowerment, and resilience (capacities to adapt to disturbances and changing conditions). Instead of merely forming commons or merely making government processes/structures more participatory and inclusive, these communities form new institutional structures that integrate governmental power and resources with community power and resources. We show that co-governance institutions arise less out of a concern for efficient and sustainable use of resources and more out of a concern for social equity and community capacities. Building on Ostrom’s work on polycentric collective governance institutions and more recent scholars’ studies of key features of co-governance, we articulate the design principles of co-governance institutions that are specifically aimed at equity (justice) and community resilience in marginalized and oppressed communities. Using examples of co-governance in both Global South and Global North regions, we explore how these design principles address resilience justice problems.