Research // Governance of the Nexus: From Buzz Words to a Strategic Action Perspective

Download at https://www.sei-international.org/publications?pid=2630 The enquiry into the governance dimension of the nexus incorporates three propositions.

• First, it acknowledges that nexus challenges cannot be separated from the perceptions, interests, and practices of actors associated with a nexus.
• Second, our approach builds on a relational understanding of nexus governance as arising from relationships between actors (actor networks) and ideas and interests (issue networks) across multiple domains.
• Third, our approach emphasizes the need for addressing nexus challenges by working with and through existing governance arrangements.

The think piece is structured in two sections.

• In the first section we develop the conceptual foundations for a strategic action perspective on nexus governance.
• In the second section we illustrate the potential of this approach by presenting the results of an empirical study of a water-food-energy-environment nexus in Ethiopia.

We conclude with some reflections and possible ways forward for a research agenda on the nexus.

The Authors

Christian Stein

Christian Stein is a research associate at the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI). His research focuses on various aspects of water governance, particularly the role social networks play in natural resources management.

Jennie Barron

Jennie Barron is a research fellow in agriculture and water management at SEI and leader of the Managing Environmental Systems research theme. Her research focuses on agriculture, water management and ecosystem services at the field to meso-scale landscapes for food production, livelihood improvements and agro-ecosystems sustainability.

Timothy Moss

Timothy Moss is deputy director of the Leibniz Institute for Regional Development and Structural Planning (IRS) in Erkner, Germany, where he heads the research department Institutional Change and Regional Public Goods. His research interests cover the governance of urban infrastructures in transition, the spatial organisation of water and energy management and institutional dynamics of resource use in cities and regions.