Losing local power: The coevolution of social and biophysical forces in Cayuga County, New York, 1800 to 1900.

摘要

The effects of power external to a rural community's boundary influence local perceptions of powerlessness. These dynamics may impair a local government's policy capability to address goals of self-determination, self-sufficiency, and sustainability, because local government authority is legally restricted to geopolitical boundaries. A community's understanding of what explains either a perceived or actual lack of local authority are justified by the aspects of power that are difficult to measure and understand.; This study examined the internal and external changes of the social, biophysical, and integrated (social and biophysical) sources of power relative to the geopolitical boundary of Cayuga County, a typical rural county in upstate New York, over its history of development from 1800 to 1900. The purpose was to identify variables and dynamics of power to inform local decision-making in the present. The research utilized a multi- and transdisciplinary approach to study historical data and trends with three contrasting theoretical perspectives. The first was a culturally deterministic social science theoretical perspective utilizing the methods of Lukes' (2005) and Gaventa's (1980) three dimensions of power. The second was an environmentally deterministic ecological systems theoretical perspective utilizing H. T. Odum's (1994) methods of tracking energy flows. Third, Norgaard's (1994) transdisciplinary coevolutionary framework integrated the previous two approaches.; Results from all three theoretical approaches found that the Cayuga County power base evolved from internal to external social, biophysical, and integrated sources in the late 19th century relative to the county's geopolitical boundary. The variables and dynamics of power important for local government decision-making in the present were revealed through the coevolutionary framework and the geospatial application to the history of development. The application of the coevolutionary framework to the problem of powerlessness as well as other issues, like natural resource management, land use planning, and economic development, may empower community decision-making by allowing a plurality of diverse perspectives to improve a holistic understanding of, measured responses to, and our relationship with complex, dynamic, and unpredictable systems of humans and nature.