Layering Action Situations to Integrate Spatial Scales, Resource Linkages, and Change over Time: The Case of Groundwater Management in Agricultural Hubs in Germany

Abstract

This paper contributes to the integration of the study of multiple (i) spatial scales, (ii) resource systems, and (iii) points in time in natural resource governance by introducing a strategy of layering action situations. In the Institutional Analysis and Development Framework, action situations can be studied singularly, in comparison, or as networks of action situations. Building on this work, we propose to complement an established action situation with new ones derived from the evolution of the case. This preserves the initial action situation and thereby enables scholars to keep track of institutional change within and beyond it. We illustrate the approach by studying a case of groundwater pollution by nitrate in a German region of intensive livestock farming.