Can overarching rules and coordination in polycentric governance help achieve pre‐identified institutional goals over time? Evidence from farmland governance in southeastern France
通过法国东南部农田治理的案例，分析了多中心治理中总体规则和协调关系能否推动制度与组织变革以实现目标，发现制度错配阻碍了地方食品供应目标的实现。
Abstract The question of the performance of polycentric governance over time is insufficiently addressed in the literature. By performance, we refer to the ability of polycentric governance actors to design rules and engage in coordination processes that allow them to achieve their goals. Through an institutional analysis, this paper seeks to answer a question that remains unresolved in the field, namely the effectiveness of the overarching set of rules and coordination relationships in their ability to drive institutional and organizational change in polycentric governance processes. To this end, we conduct an in‐depth case study of farmland governance in southeastern France. Through the attributes of polycentric governance, we examine the changes brought about by the goal of local food supply comparing it with other historical goals such as farmland preservation. We show that farmland governance is characterized by an institutional mismatch that prevents its actors from moving closer to the objective of local food supply. We argue that the evolution of farmland governance comes down to organizational change that does not lead to an evolution of rules‐in‐use. We discuss this result in light of the findings of the literature on polycentric governance and its implications for public policy.