The concept of multi-actor perspective as an analytical tool for studying the transition to sustainable development

Abstract

The article discusses the concept of a multi-actor perspective (hereinafter referred to as MAP), proposed by the representatives of the Dutch research institute for transitioning to sustainable development. The author compares MAP to the more widely used analytical tool MLP (Multi-Level Perspective) and highlights the characteristics of MAP. These characteristics include the analysis of different types of transition management actors (state (government), market (business), community, and the third sector) at different levels of their aggregation (sectors, organizational actors, and separate (individual and group) actors). Sectors are considered specific «institutional contexts» or «discursive fields» where organizations or individual actors interact. Sector boundaries are not fixed and are challenged periodically by actors, blurred and changed, creating competition and cooperation between various actors. The author believes that MAP should be considered as a specific type of communication model between government and society during the transition to sustainable development, as it addresses not only the problems of redistribution of power and authority between the participants during the course of transition but also allows us to understand the communication models for managing the transition to sustainable development. The value of MAP in studying the processes of managing the transition to sustainable development is that it reveals not only vertical but also horizontal communication, provides an opportunity to uncover the links of different types of power, identifies the potential of the third sector and the potential of poorly organized communities for transitioning to sustainable development.