Building governance on fragile grounds: lessonsfrom Romania

Abstract

Establishing structures of environmental governance is an important goal of external policy actors but a notoriously difficult one to achieve in states with weak regulatory capacities. Building on newer developments in governance research, this contribution offers contextual specifications for factors mediating external regulatory influence. The paper analyses the emergence and the effectiveness of environmental governance in two explorative case studies dealing with the provision of drinking water and, respectively, nature protection from Romania. The main finding is that external influence can lead to the emergence of new modes of environmental governance if supported by capable sectoral administration and pro-change stakeholders.