The Duality of Discourse: Conflict and Cooperation

Abstract

"In this thesis, I outline in what way environmental governance is practiced in a mountainous area in the west of Kosovo; the Rugova Canyon. I illustrate how on the one hand, discourses and ideas about governing the area cause conflicts, and on the other hand, create cooperation between different stakeholders. This thesis shows that environmental governance in the Rugova Canyon can be considered an area of limited statehood. There is a lack of governmental focus for governing the area, which makes that there is a lack of law implementation and enforcement. As an answer to the question of how environmental governance is possible in an area of limited statehood, I have argued that the discourse of sustainable development serves as a functional equivalent to the shadow of hierarchy. The discourse of sustainable development makes people rely on the same logic of consequences or logic of appropriateness to make hybrid forms of environmental governance work."