Governing Coastal Resources in Western Ireland and Northern Norway: A Comparative Analysis

Abstract

"Comparative institutional analysis in the environmental field is a demanding task. Not only must the different institutional solutions to the collective decision challenges of resource governance be brought on such a form that comparisons are possible. But also the normative basis for governing institutions must be uncovered to a degree that permits comparisons. This is often done through historical analysis of their origin combined with studies of their adaptation to changes and investigations into their self-perpetuative capabilities. As was emphasized in chapter 2, institutions for governing natural resources are in addition arranged in layers, where the same resource can have several different institutions pertaining to govern it - often originating from different periods in the development of modern European societies. This complex empirical situation demands inclusive methods that does not merely compare two or more different institutions governing the same type of resource, but also compares two or more different evolutionary processes - including their in-built dynamics of further change."