Perceptions of power and the management of environmental conflict: Forest politics in British Columbia

Abstract

Political actors' perceptions of the contexts in which they act influence their strategies and behavior. A key element of political contexts is the configuration of power with respect to a conflict. We interviewed 28 individuals involved in British Columbia forest politics to determine their perceptions of the configuration of power, the nature of their political behavior, their dispositions with respect to institutionalized conflict resolution processes, and their policy goals. Our analysis generated two sets of conclusions. First, the B.C. government's efforts to address forest conflict will be hindered by the inconsistency between the conflict management strategy they have chosen and the mental models of politics held by key political actors. Second, the subjective realities of political actors can be used to explain variation in political behavior.