Climate Adaptation in Canada: Governing a Complex Policy Regime

• Published in: The Review of policy research 2017-05, Vol.34 (3), p.378-399
• Main Author: Henstra, Daniel
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adaptation; Canada; Case studies; Climate; Climate adaptation; climate change; climate change adaptation; Collective action; Environmental policy; Governance; Government agencies; policy regime; public policy
• ISSN: 1541-132X; 1541-1338
• DOI: 10.1111/ropr.12236

Climate adaptation is a complex policy area, in which knowledge, authority, and resources are fragmented among numerous public agencies, multiple levels of government, and a wide range of nongovernmental actors. Mobilizing and coordinating disparate public and private efforts is a key challenge in this policy domain, and this has focused research attention on the governance of adaptation, including the dynamics of interaction among interests and the institutions that facilitate collective action. This paper contributes to the study of adaptation governance by adopting the policy regimes perspective, an analytical framework designed to make sense of the loose governing arrangements surrounding complex, fragmented problems. The perspective's constructs are applied to a longitudinal case study of adaptation governance in Canada, which identifies, analyzes, and evaluates the policy ideas, institutions, and interests that comprise Canada's adaptation policy regime.