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Relationality and Social–Ecological Systems: Going Beyond or Behind Sustainability and Resilience

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  • Raul P. Lejano

    (School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA)

Abstract

Sustainability and resilience are most often thought of as systems concepts that evaluate the state and function of objects of interest as well as the system as a whole. In this article, we shift the focus toward the “space in between”—i.e., the relationships among objects in the system. The article develops the concept of relationality, which provides a new lens to understanding what social and material processes drive or impede the functioning and sustainability of a social–ecological system (SES). Relationality seeks to understand a system not so much as a set of interacting objects but a web of relationships. By foregrounding relationships, we are better able to understand the rich ground of practice that guides a system in ways that the formal rational designs do not explain. Several examples are drawn from the literature that suggests how a relational analysis might proceed and what social–ecological phenomena we can better explain by this means. The article ends with a note on how the promise of relational analyses also bears in it its challenges.

Suggested Citation

  • Raul P. Lejano, 2019. "Relationality and Social–Ecological Systems: Going Beyond or Behind Sustainability and Resilience," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-9, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:10:p:2760-:d:231071
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Lejano, Raul P. & Newbery, Nicola & Ciolino, Maegan & Newbery, David, 2019. "Sustainability and incommensurability: Narrative policy analysis with application to urban ecology," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 164(C), pages 1-1.
    2. Christoph Görg & Ulrich Brand & Helmut Haberl & Diana Hummel & Thomas Jahn & Stefan Liehr, 2017. "Challenges for Social-Ecological Transformations: Contributions from Social and Political Ecology," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(7), pages 1-21, June.
    3. Kathleen A Cagney & David Sterrett & Jennifer Benz & Trevor Tompson, 2016. "Social Resources and Community Resilience in the Wake of Superstorm Sandy," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(8), pages 1-17, August.
    4. Rammel, Christian & Stagl, Sigrid & Wilfing, Harald, 2007. "Managing complex adaptive systems -- A co-evolutionary perspective on natural resource management," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 63(1), pages 9-21, June.
    5. Bruce Evan Goldstein & Anne Taufen Wessells & Raul Lejano & William Butler, 2015. "Narrating Resilience: Transforming Urban Systems Through Collaborative Storytelling," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 52(7), pages 1285-1303, May.
    6. Johanna Kramm & Melanie Pichler & Anke Schaffartzik & Martin Zimmermann, 2017. "Societal Relations to Nature in Times of Crisis—Social Ecology’s Contributions to Interdisciplinary Sustainability Studies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(7), pages 1-12, June.
    7. Kawika B. Winter & Noa Kekuewa Lincoln & Fikret Berkes, 2018. "The Social-Ecological Keystone Concept: A Quantifiable Metaphor for Understanding the Structure, Function, and Resilience of a Biocultural System," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-19, September.
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    Cited by:

    1. Maria V. Sigova & Igor K. Klyuchnikov & Oleg I. Klyuchnikov, 2024. "Sustainability and Security of Green Finance from the Multi-agent Games Perspective," Finansovyj žhurnal — Financial Journal, Financial Research Institute, Moscow 125375, Russia, issue 1, pages 78-95, February.
    2. Jessica Cockburn & Eureta Rosenberg & Athina Copteros & Susanna Francina (Ancia) Cornelius & Notiswa Libala & Liz Metcalfe & Benjamin van der Waal, 2020. "A Relational Approach to Landscape Stewardship: Towards a New Perspective for Multi-Actor Collaboration," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(7), pages 1-20, July.
    3. Achmad Syamsu Hidayat & Ismi Rajiani & Deasy Arisanty, 2022. "Sustainability of Floodplain Wetland Fisheries of Rural Indonesia: Does Culture Enhance Livelihood Resilience?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-17, November.
    4. Ari-Veikko Anttiroiko, 2023. "Smart Circular Cities: Governing the Relationality, Spatiality, and Digitality in the Promotion of Circular Economy in an Urban Region," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(17), pages 1-41, August.

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