@techreport{Sikor2002commons,
abstract = {The paper analyses the institutional dynamics surrounding common-pool resources in
postsocialist Central and Eastern Europe. It is conceived in close conjunction with the
case studies reported in the four preceding papers in this series. The purpose of this paper
is to frame the individual case inquiries, compare the findings from the four plus
two additional case studies, and relate those to broader agrarian and environmental
changes in Central and Eastern Europe.
The comparative assessment suggests that resource governance has shifted from the
previously dominant legal and administrative state hierarchies towards markets. In addition,
state power has moved from central governments towards local authorities. The
waning and decentralisation of state power has caused the emergence of significant gaps
between property legislation and rights-in-practice, which have been particularly stark
in weak states. The discrepancy between legal texts and rights-in-practice leads to the
exclusion of public and collective interests in favour of private interests in CPR management.
It finds its environmental expression in the declining use of water control systems,
widespread destruction of water infrastructure, and unfettered conversion of agricultural
land for urban sprawl. Thus, the findings attest to the central role of distributive
issues in postsocialist privatisation and suggest an additional dimension of distributive
conflict: different rights and obligations associated with resources. They also suggest
the need for postsocialist governments to be actively involved in the management of
common-pool resources for the protection of public and collective interests.},
author = {Thomas Sikor},
copyright = {http://www.econstor.eu/dspace/Nutzungsbedingungen},
keywords = {330; Allmenderessource; Institutioneller Wandel; Landwirtschaft; Umweltbewu\ss{}tsein; Osteuropa},
language = {eng},
number = {10},
title = {The commons in transition},
type = {CEESA discussion paper / Humboldt-Universit\"{a}t Berlin, Department of Agricultural Economics and Social Sciences},
url = {http://hdl.handle.net/10419/22292},
year = {2002}
}
