Beyond the Mainstream: Ostrom's Polycentric Governance as a Pragmatist–Institutionalist Synthesis

Document Type : Research Paper

Author

Department of Economics, Mofid University, Qom, Iran.

Abstract

The dominant narrative in economics, shaped by the "tragedy of the commons," prescribes state intervention or privatization as the only solutions to collective action problems. Elinor Ostrom’s work, documenting sustainable common-pool resource governance, poses a profound challenge to this orthodoxy. Yet, her theoretical legacy remains contested. This article moves beyond viewing Ostrom as an empirical anomaly within mainstream economics, offering instead a heterodox reconstruction of her work as a coherent pragmatist–institutionalist synthesis. We argue that Ostrom’s method is grounded in Charles S. Peirce’s logic of abduction and fallibilism, while her normative commitments align with John Dewey’s experimental democracy and experiential learning. Situating her within the classical institutionalist tradition (Veblen, Commons, Mitchell) and contrasting her approach with the New Institutionalism (Williamson, North, Coase), we demonstrate that her analysis of polycentric governance represents a distinct paradigm. A comparative re-reading of her canonical case studies—Nepalese irrigation, Swiss forests, and Turkish fisheries—reveals how local knowledge, participatory rule-making, and iterative correction function as mechanisms for reducing transaction costs and building resilient institutions. The article concludes by outlining a robust policy and research agenda for climate, digital, and urban governance, arguing that a pragmatist–institutionalist reading of Ostrom provides not merely a corrective, but a viable heterodox alternative to market- and state-centric models, one that prioritizes pluralism, adaptive efficiency, and democratic legitimacy.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

Aligica, P. D., & Boettke, P. J. (2009). Challenging institutional analysis and development: The Bloomington School. Routledge.
Bohman, J. (1999). Democracy as inquiry, inquiry as democratic: Pragmatism, social science, and the cognitive division of labor. American Journal of Political Science, 43(2), 590–607.
Coase, R. H. (1960). The problem of social cost. The Journal of Law & Economics, 3, 1–44.
Commons, J. R. (1934). Institutional economics: Its place in political economy. Macmillan.
Dewey, J. (1916). Democracy and education. The Macmillan Company.
Dewey, J. (1927). The public and its problems. Henry Holt and Company.
Dewey, J. (1929). The quest for certainty: A study of the relation of knowledge and action. Minton, Balch & Company.
Friedman, M. (1953). The methodology of positive economics. In Essays in positive economics (pp. 3–43). University of Chicago Press.
Hardin, G. (1968). The tragedy of the commons. Science, 162(3859), 1243–1248.
Hess, C., & Ostrom, E. (Eds.). (2007). Understanding knowledge as a commons: From theory to practice. MIT Press.
Mitchell, W. C. (1927). Business cycles: The problem and its setting. National Bureau of Economic Research.
North, D. C. (1990). Institutions, institutional change and economic performance. Cambridge University Press.
Ostrom, E. (1990). Governing the commons: The evolution of institutions for collective action. Cambridge University Press.
Ostrom, E. (2005). Understanding institutional diversity. Princeton University Press.
Ostrom, E. (2007). A diagnostic approach for going beyond panaceas. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 104(39), 15181–15187.
Ostrom, E. (2010). Beyond markets and states: Polycentric governance of complex economic systems. American Economic Review, 100(3), 641–672.
Peirce, C. S. (193). Collected papers of Charles Sanders Peirce (Vols. 1–8; C. Hartshorne, P. Weiss, & A. W. Burks, Eds.). Harvard University Press.
Peirce, C. S. (1934). Collected papers of Charles Sanders Peirce: Vol. 5. Pragmatism and pragmaticism (C. Hartshorne & P. Weiss, Eds.). Harvard University Press.
Veblen, T. (1899). The theory of the leisure class: An economic study of institutions. Macmillan.
Williamson, O. E. (1985). The economic institutions of capitalism. Free Press.

Files

History

  • Receive Date: 29 September 2025
  • Revise Date: 12 November 2025
  • Accept Date: 12 November 2025

Share

How to cite

Statistics