Governing the Commons In the Era of Decodification and Self-Responsible Societies. Elinor Ostrom's Theory and the Challenges for Legal Science

Abstract

"It may seem that the studies of E. Ostrom are an example of a purely modern application of sociology and the theories of economy in empirical field studies, which aim at describing the behavior of societies governing the commons, as well as drawing conclusions that allow economy models to be evaluated. In fact, E. Ostrom did not limit herself to studying the present. On the contrary, the study of the historical experience is one of the pillars of her project. The analysis of documents, historical accounts and the work of other researchers, who had the opportunity to study the communities empirically, is one of the basic methods applied by E. Ostrom. In her studies, the analysis of history and the present combine, to evaluate the experience, and to draw useful conclusions for the future. It is worth mentioning that the communities governed by commons in the medieval times, modern times and at present, are in the scope of her interests."