Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Connecting individuals within the political spheres can give actors from outside access
or leverage to the political system. These connections can have either a professional
or personal background. They also enable an exchange of knowledge. Moreover,
the better the connection between the individuals within the political sphere, the
higher the chance that the issue is addressed within the political system (Mollinga
2010).
Different concepts help to clarify political interest and political will. In political
interest it is important to first understand the force field of interests that make up the
political power and then to see how these are linked to the manipulation of alloca-
tion or use of natural resources. The process of granting concessions and deciding on
investment is generally not a black box, even in less democratic countries. Another
important and useful question is how differences in knowledge, information, negotia-
tion skills, organization, etc. can function as manipulative instruments and examples
of soft power mechanisms (Zeitoun et al. 2010). Depending on their relative impor-
tance for social, political and economic purposes, there is also a large difference in the
degree to which different resources influence this process. As Witsenburg and Roba
(2007) explain, the cooperation for certain resources might appear unlikely, but may
sometimes occur unexpectedly.
'Span of control' is an important concept to understand political will. Though
there is a tendency to suggest that politics is all-pervasive or that 'everything is politi-
cal', this is not necessarily the case. There are two factors that set the boundaries. The
first factor is that some issues and options are within the control of the political lead-
ership, whereas others are beyond it. A grey area exists between these two extremes.
The position of a state in this grey area differs. The second factor is that 'there is only
so much' that a political state can be involved in. It cannot be engaged in every issue,
let alone control it. As we will discuss later, the reach of what it can be involved in
differs. There may also be intervening factors - issues that because of their urgency or
appeal take precedence. These issues include perceived insecurity, secessionist move-
ments, terrorism or issues that have strong actors as mediators. Fourthly, exploitation
and allocation are generally easier in resource development and hence more attractive
to a state in the short run than resource regulation and management. This is further
explained by a lack of (good) governance and control (Wolf et al. 2005). An example
of this is the success China has in leasing fertile land in parts of Africa despite food
scarcity. It is important to overcome short-term thinking and work towards long-term
safeguarding of the resource for future generations.
Opening the 'political black-box' requires a detailed analytical approach that first
considers which decision-making is part of the political domain and, secondly, exam-
ines how decision-making in politics functions and is influenced by power distribution,
perceptions, and strategic and tactical decision making.
5.6 ATYPOLOGY OF POLITICAL STATES
The political state of a country is directly related to the ways in which political interest
and political will take shape, as well as the ways in which governance deals with
conflicts - at times even encouraging them - supports cooperation and leaves certain
(burning) issues in a void. Consequently, these aspects differ greatly from country to
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