The Search for Enabling Conditions to Polycentric Governance: The Case of E-waste Import into Thailand

Abstract

In recent years, growing attention has been paid to polycentric governance as the potential institutional arrangement and system that can enhance the ability of governance to deal with environmental change. However, existing literature has paid less attention to the enabling conditions, defined as the institutional features necessary for the transition to polycentric governance. The transition to polycentric governance has gained increasing interest in a wide range of issue areas, including energy systems, water governance and climate change. However, the study of polycentric transition has been applied less in the context of e-waste governance. To fill the research gap, this paper aims to examine the enabling conditions that facilitate the shift toward polycentric governance in the context of e-waste imports into Thailand. Based on qualitative research, semi-structured interviews were used to collect data from a wide range of stakeholders involved in governing e-waste imports into Thailand. The research findings demonstrate that the three enabling conditions, including bridging organisations, authority of decision-making centres and mechanisms for accountability, are considered the institutional conditions that facilitate the emergence of polycentric governance. Moreover, the findings suggest that the adaptive law emerges as the fourth enabling condition, regarded as the important legal feature necessary for the achievement of polycentric governance. The enabling conditions recommended in this study can enable the capacity of concerned stakeholders to achieve the advantages of polycentric governance in the context of e-waste imports into Thailand.