Description: On the basis of research from a decade-long, multi-site study of efforts to transform freshwater management in Brazil, Practical Authority asks how new institutional arrangements established by law become operational in practice.
Review Quotes: Yale H. Ferguson Award co-winner
"An attractive, compelling, and theoretically ambitious pragmatic account of agentic political actors struggling to construct new governance arrangements that span state, industry, and civil society, and balance the demands of environment, development, and fairness. This book will reward those seeking to understand the strategic and structural dynamics of institutional reform efforts."-Archon Fung, Harvard Kennedy School"In the hands of the authors, the emergence of innovative water management institutions in Brazil becomes an unparalleled opportunity to question how people construct new institutions. The authors generate a powerful response by combining a carefully crafted, highly original theoretical framework with a treasure chest of empirical observations. Everyone from theoreticians to policy makers and activists will find this book invaluable."-Peter Evans, UC Berkeley
"Abers and Keck combine innovative concepts of how actors make and use institutions with a rich body of empirical material. The result is an intriguing story of how actors have created, shaped, and used institutions that are 'entangled' in a particularly complex environment. The authors show the importance of agency, of viewing institutions dynamically, and of following the messy process of creating the practical authority with which to govern."-Ken Conca, author of Governing Water"Practical Authority: Agency and Institutional Change in Brazilian Water Politics has a lot to say to water scholars. That said, the theory underlying this book is highly innovative and relevant to many other subjects besides water politics in Brazil."--Helen Ingram, University of California Irvine