Transformative collective action: A network approach to transformative change in ecosystem-based management

[From Introduction] This chapter will strive to add to contributions made by other authors in describing and explaining transformative change. Special attention will be paid to elucidate the collective nature of these transformations, hence the title of transformative collective action. The analysis will show that in order to bring about radical institutional change of natural resource management, a whole network of individuals and organizations are needed that through time can sustain pressure for change. These actors furthermore need to relate to each other through information exchange and repeated collaborations in order to coordinate their collective action, to learn as they go along of what works and what does not work, and to negotiate their vision of change to reach some common ground that can unite their collective effort. This type of sustained collective action furthermore needs to operate through, and challenge, already established institutions, modes of thought and ways of doing things. As such we can talk about collective action as a ‘collective actor’ – the network of actors – that over time builds enough agency to generate institutional change.