Theorizing polycentric governance of global socio-ecological challenges through a meso-institutional perspective
构建理论框架，从中观制度视角分析多中心治理如何应对气候变化等全球社会生态挑战，聚焦企业、政府与公民社会组成的多利益相关方伙伴关系。
Abstract In this paper, we build a theoretical framework to better understand the polycentric governance of global socio-ecological challenges through the lenses of meso-institutional analysis. Climate change, deforestation, pollinator decline, and loss of soil fertility are examples of complex socio-ecological challenges caused by anthropic pressures at a global scale. These challenges result in intractable social dilemmas and absent or weak macro-institutions, posing questions on how subsidiary mechanisms of coordination can be adopted in a polycentric governance approach. Building on the meso-institutional framework and socio-ecological systems framework, we investigate the emergence and establishment of multi-stakeholder partnerships (MSPs), where businesses, governments, and civil society organizations try to address global challenges. Recognizing meso-institutional functions in MSPs allowed us to expand our theorizing of the polycentric governance of global socio-ecological challenges, looking at nested, interrelated, and multi-layered relations between multiple actors and organizations.