State roles and motivations in collaborative approaches to water governance: A power theory-based analysis

Contentious water problems are increasingly being addressed using collaborative approaches to governance. Despite trends toward more inclusive governance, governments continue to play important roles in the initiation of collaboration, provision of institutional and financial support, and approval and implementation of policies and decisions. This study used power theory to structure an analysis of the actions and motivations of the state at various stages in the policy making and decision making cycle. Research assessed the potential of collaboration to generate better social and environmental outcomes. Empirical cases in Ontario and Alberta, Canada, both characterized by the participation of powerful natural resource industries, were used to generate insights. Results reveal that the provincial governments exerted power from agenda setting through to implementation in response to socioeconomic, political and cultural stimuli at multiple scales in ways that reproduced existing power structures. The position and activities of the state, in these cases, challenged the potential of collaboration to achieve desired social and environmental outcomes.