Caught between the pasts and the futures? The role of imagined futures in the institutional dynamics of European bison conservation in Poland

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe paper analyses the role of creating and pursuing visions of the future as a form of institutional work oriented at influencing European bison governance in Poland. It is argued that future imaginaries are more or less consciously designed by actors engaged in symbolic institutional work aimed at creating, maintaining, or disrupting institutions. In the case of bison governance, 'future design' accompanied major periods of institutional formation and transformation. Imagined futures encapsulated actors' beliefs, values, and interests; informed goals to be attained; and provided a normative and cognitive platform for co-operation. They were also connected with imagined pasts and with perceived risks. Two competing coalitions in bison governance represented different temporal orientations - the established one emphasised the importance of the past and the associated risks embodied in the animals, while the coalition challenging them focused on an unpredictable but also promising open future and risks external to the animals. Institutional dynamics of policy governance depended on the interaction of dominant and competing futures within the socio-political and environmental context.