Context and the commons

Abstract

This brief article summarizes some of the main concerns and strengths of common property management in the context of forest governance. Based on a number of studies, the authors argue that a transition is occurring in how we study common property management from an emphasis on the individualistic, rational actor approaches to ones that emphasize the role of context to allow for greater variability in common property management schemes. Context is defined as local institutions for enforcement, regional landscape and social networks.