Fostering the actor-institutions nexus in forest management: Theoretical construction and empirical analysis in sub-Saharan Africa

• Applicant: Jude Kimengsi, Ph.D.
• Subject Area: Forestry ; Empirical Social Research
• Term: since 2019
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 437116427

An unsettled structure-agency theoretical debate centres on the relative positions of actors on the one hand and institutions on the other hand, in shaping natural (forest) resource management outcomes. Theoretical evidence on the (separate) role of institutions and actors in shaping natural resource use and management has been significantly documented, especially in several parts of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Studies in the field of institutions have explored the sources, typology and effects of different forms of institutions on forest use and management in SSA, with very limited emphasis on the role of actors in the process. Actor-centred studies, especially the Actor Centred Power theoretical lens have equally analyzed actor diversity, interests (formal and informal) and power sources, while virtually ignoring the institutional dimension in the context of natural resource use and management, especially forests in SSA. Yet, a holistic appreciation of forest use and management processes requires fostering the “marriage” between institutions and actors; that is, showing how institutions set inclusion/exclusion criteria for actors to enhance and constrain forest use and management practices, and how actors employ their power resources to enforce, modify, make less effective or redesign institutions. Recent joint actor-institutions analysis around forest settings in SSA did not employ an overarching theoretical anchor. Building on previous empirical studies on actors and institutions, this research project aims to generate scientific knowledge by developing a comprehensive actor-cum-institutions theoretical framework and empirically testing it in three socio-culturally and ecologically diverse SSA settings: Cameroon, Ghana and Namibia. The project will specifically employ content analysis to elaborate preconditions for an actors-institutions theoretical framework, and to elaborate on the framework components. It will further employ case study based qualitative content analysis (QCA) to historically contextualize actor-institutions relationships and analyze their joint role in shaping forest management outcomes. Quantitative tools (the Principal Component Analysis, the ordinary least square and the Tobit models) will be employed to estimate the effect of both actors and institutions on forest use and management choices. The results will support analytical generalizations on the conditions under which both actors and institutions collectively shape forest management choices in SSA and other global south contexts.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• Co-Investigator: Professor Dr. Lukas Giessen