Institutional entrepreneurs, global networks, and the emergence of international institutions for ecosystem-based management: The Coral Triangle Initiative

Abstract

This study explores the role of institutional entrepreneurship in the creation of an international agreement to radically transform management of coastal and marine resources in the Coral Triangle. It analyzes how institutional entrepreneurs develop strategies to overcome barriers to change and navigate opportunity contexts to mobilize support for ecosystem-based management. The analysis shows that institutional change depends on collaboration among several institutional entrepreneurs that have access to different networks and are supported by different types of organizations. It also shows that interplay between institutional entrepreneurship and high-level political leadership plays a critical role in institution building. Institutional entrepreneurs must therefore align their ideas of ecosystem-based management to multiple political priorities and transfer experience and social capital from previous multilateral projects. By supporting the development of new governance arenas for deliberation, institutional entrepreneurs may enhance the fit between domestic and multilateral policy making. Lastly, institutional entrepreneurship may raise critical questions about legitimacy, accountability and ownership.