Understanding the impact of democratic logics on participatory resource decision-making in New Zealand

This paper claims that participatory approaches to water resource management in New Zealand are highly influenced by how institutional and community actors understand and practise democracy, including indigenous Māori rights under the Treaty of Waitangi. Drawing on case study analysis from a six-yea...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Local environment 2016-10, Vol.21 (10), p.1171-1184
Main Authors: Winstanley, Ann, Ahuriri-Driscoll, Annabel, Hepi, Maria, Baker, Virginia, Foote, Jeffrey
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
action research
Case studies
Decision making
Democracy
Governance
grounded theory
institutional logics
Local government
New Zealand
Participation
Participatory decision-making
Resource management
Tempering
Treaties
water resource management
Water resources
Water resources management
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Summary:This paper claims that participatory approaches to water resource management in New Zealand are highly influenced by how institutional and community actors understand and practise democracy, including indigenous Māori rights under the Treaty of Waitangi. Drawing on case study analysis from a six-year research programme in which the aim was to evaluate existing and new methods for participatory decision-making, we highlight how different but co-existing democratic beliefs and practices, referred to as democratic logics can shape relationships between governance/decision-making bodies and affected communities. One particular case is examined in detail to illustrate how the various "logics" were strengthened, extended and challenged through participatory research methodologies. Our key message is that revealing and articulating existing democratic logics for participation can help promote and facilitate new participatory approaches, as well as increase robustness and community buy-in to local government decision-making.
ISSN:1354-9839
1469-6711
DOI:10.1080/13549839.2015.1127218