Speaking Private Authority: The Construction of Sustainability in Forests and Fisheries

(Hardback)

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Speaking Private Authority: The Construction of Sustainability in Forests and Fisheries expands upon current understandings of the emergent global phenomenon that is private authority. As private authority is becoming increasingly important in the conduct of global governance, broadening our collective understanding of it will prove beneficial. Roberto J. Flores argues that private actors are not simply outgrowths of existent social structures or material conditions, rather they are purposive agents strategically pursuing an agenda. Therefore, explaining private authority requires an examination of the constitutive elements that underlie this social phenomenonto which the author applies an analytical framework that combines social network theory with discourse analysis. The author applies these tools to two cases taken from the environmental sectorforests and fisheriesand finds that as environmental politics takes on an increasingly networked character the actors that are best able to generate and wield private authority are those that strategically place themselves in-between networks through the construction of discursive nodal points around which competing actors are forced to convergeat the level of identity. The case studies specifically look at how particular actors leveraged construction of the sustainable development concept in order to strategically place themselves in advantageous positions for exercising private authority.

Reviews

"Combining careful empirical analysis with creative theoretical argument, Speaking Private Authority develops a unique and revealing perspective on the dynamics of private authority in global environmental governance. Flores shows how private actors can leverage their unique position as 'network connectors' to generate new social identities and relations of authority. In so doing, he contributes to our understanding of the constitutive foundations of authority in world politics and the increasingly central role that non-state actors play in global governance."--John Oates, Florida International University
"Speaking Private Authority: The Construction of Sustainability in Forests and Fisheries is a fresh and innovative investigation into a central issue of our times: How to effectively govern the protection of our environment. This is an area in international relations relegated to the problem of the world's commons and generally neglected or sidestepped by major scholars and schools of thought in the discipline. Nonetheless, Robert Flores confronts it fearlessly and ingeniously by focusing on the vital role of discourse linking different social networks towards the promotion of private authority in the governance of our stressed environment. This is an original, exhaustive, and excellently argued work. Its conclusions are highly instructive to other cases beyond forestry and fisheries. In sum, this is a theoretical contribution and a lesson about how to conduct meaningful research regarding the protection of our environment. I highly recommend it."--Flix E. Martn, Florida International University

Author Bio

Roberto J. Flores is adjunct professor at Florida International University.