Building Collaborative Governance: A Case Study of the Jeju Civilian-Military Complex Port

Abstract

This study analyzes the process of selecting candidate sites for a naval base on Jeju Island in terms of collaborative governance in order to present advice for preventing mistakes that were made which led to both financial damage and a loss of social capital. Research Design, Data and Methodology: After a literature review, a working definition of collaborative governance is presented along with a set of variables which are considered to be key components of collaborative governance. These variables are then analyzed within the framework definition of collaborative governance using a modified version of Ansell and Gash s model (2008), with the addition of some concepts of variables as depicted in the model of Emerson et al. (2012). Results: Participants in the site selection process were divided into two groups, those supporting the construction of the Jeju Naval Base and those in opposition, and the two parties did not form the networks for collaborative governance, especially at the outset of the process. Because of an imbalance of available power and resources, with the advantage being held by the Ministry of National Defense, the ministry did not share information with those opposed to the naval base, which could have led to the formation of networks for collaborative governance and the building of a constructive relationship. One of the major incentives given for building the naval base was the benefit to the local economy, but opponents of the project argued that this did not outweigh the cost of damage to the natural environment. Conclusion: This study finds that insufficient effort was made to embrace all stakeholders in the process and that there was inadequate consideration of their demands in terms of collaborative governance. A public-private partnership would have been a desirable first step towards building trust and reaching the goal of achieving coordination, rather than one-sided decision-making. Although many scholars rightly emphasize the importance of face-to-face dialogue between stakeholders, which leads to a consensus-oriented process through the breaking down of stereotypes and other barriers to communication, it was almost non-existent in this case of Gangjeong Village Jeju.