Individuals Matter: Exploring Strategies of Individuals to Change the Water Policy for the Tisza River in Hungary
This paper offers a novel interpretation of the introduction of floodplain rehabilitation and rural development into the water policy for the Tisza River in Hungary. It looks at the role of individuals and the strategies that they used to bring about water policy change. Five strategies are explored...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Resilience Alliance
2010-06-01
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| Series: | Ecology and Society |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol15/iss2/art24/ |
| _version_ | 1818925049253462016 |
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| author | Saskia E. Werners Piotr Matczak Zsuzsanna Flachner |
| author_facet | Saskia E. Werners Piotr Matczak Zsuzsanna Flachner |
| author_sort | Saskia E. Werners |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This paper offers a novel interpretation of the introduction of floodplain rehabilitation and rural development into the water policy for the Tisza River in Hungary. It looks at the role of individuals and the strategies that they used to bring about water policy change. Five strategies are explored: developing new ideas, building coalitions to sell ideas, using windows of opportunity, playing multiple venues and orchestrating networks. Our discussion on the importance of each strategy and the individuals behind it is based on interviews, group discussions and a literature review. The international and political attention sparked by a series of floods, dike failure and a major cyanide spill, which preceded national elections, opened a window of opportunity for launching ideas. A new regional coalition successfully introduced floodplain rehabilitation into the water policy arena. Our analysis emphasizes the importance of a responsible civil servant who recognizes a new policy idea at an abstract level and a credible regional coalition that advocates the new idea regionally. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-20T02:35:02Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-59e1f3d0c6b248249d998200d89ca950 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1708-3087 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-20T02:35:02Z |
| publishDate | 2010-06-01 |
| publisher | Resilience Alliance |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ecology and Society |
| spelling | doaj.art-59e1f3d0c6b248249d998200d89ca9502022-12-21T19:56:28ZengResilience AllianceEcology and Society1708-30872010-06-011522410.5751/ES-03405-1502243405Individuals Matter: Exploring Strategies of Individuals to Change the Water Policy for the Tisza River in HungarySaskia E. WernersPiotr MatczakZsuzsanna FlachnerThis paper offers a novel interpretation of the introduction of floodplain rehabilitation and rural development into the water policy for the Tisza River in Hungary. It looks at the role of individuals and the strategies that they used to bring about water policy change. Five strategies are explored: developing new ideas, building coalitions to sell ideas, using windows of opportunity, playing multiple venues and orchestrating networks. Our discussion on the importance of each strategy and the individuals behind it is based on interviews, group discussions and a literature review. The international and political attention sparked by a series of floods, dike failure and a major cyanide spill, which preceded national elections, opened a window of opportunity for launching ideas. A new regional coalition successfully introduced floodplain rehabilitation into the water policy arena. Our analysis emphasizes the importance of a responsible civil servant who recognizes a new policy idea at an abstract level and a credible regional coalition that advocates the new idea regionally.http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol15/iss2/art24/coalitionindividual actorHungaryTisza Rivertransitionwater policy change |
| spellingShingle | Saskia E. Werners Piotr Matczak Zsuzsanna Flachner Individuals Matter: Exploring Strategies of Individuals to Change the Water Policy for the Tisza River in Hungary Ecology and Society coalition individual actor Hungary Tisza River transition water policy change |
| title | Individuals Matter: Exploring Strategies of Individuals to Change the Water Policy for the Tisza River in Hungary |
| title_full | Individuals Matter: Exploring Strategies of Individuals to Change the Water Policy for the Tisza River in Hungary |
| title_fullStr | Individuals Matter: Exploring Strategies of Individuals to Change the Water Policy for the Tisza River in Hungary |
| title_full_unstemmed | Individuals Matter: Exploring Strategies of Individuals to Change the Water Policy for the Tisza River in Hungary |
| title_short | Individuals Matter: Exploring Strategies of Individuals to Change the Water Policy for the Tisza River in Hungary |
| title_sort | individuals matter exploring strategies of individuals to change the water policy for the tisza river in hungary |
| topic | coalition individual actor Hungary Tisza River transition water policy change |
| url | http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol15/iss2/art24/ |
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