Panarchy
Encyclopedia
Panarchy is a conceptual term first coined by the Belgian
botanist and economist
Paul Emile de Puydt
in 1860, referring to a specific form of governance (-archy) that would encompass (pan-) all others. The Oxford English Dictionary
lists the noun as "chiefly poetic" with the meaning "a universal realm," citing a 1848 attestation by Philip James Bailey
, "the starry panarchy of space". The adjective panarchic "all-ruling" has earlier attestations. In the twentieth century the term was re-coined separately by scholars in international relations
to describe the notion of global governance and then by systems theorists
to describe non-hierarchical organizing theories.
De Puydt described how such a system would be administered:
De Puydt’s definition of panarchy was expanded into a political philosophy of panarchism
. It has been espoused by anarchist or libertarian
-leaning individuals, including especially Max Nettlau
and John Zube
.
Le Grand E. Day and others have used the phrase “multigovernment” to describe a similar system. Another similar idea is "Functional Overlapping Competing Jurisdictions" (FOCJ
) promoted by Swiss economists Bruno Frey and Reiner Eichenberger.
David Ronfeldt and John Arquilla, in their work on Netwar
, which they describe as an emergent form of low intensity conflict, crime, and activism, that: "The design is a heterarchy
, but also what might be termed a 'panarchy.'"
Paul B. Hartzog writes in "Panarchy: Governance in the Network Age": “Panarchy is a transdisciplinary investigation into the political and cultural philosophy of ‘network culture.’ The primary fields of relevance for panarchy are world politics (international relations), political philosophy/theory, and information technology. Panarchy also draws on insights from information/communications theory, economics, sociology, networks, and complex systems."
In Paul B. Hartzog's work, the term "panarchy" emerges at the intersection of three core concepts: 1) ecology and complex systems, 2) technology, and 3) politics. The "pan" of ecological thinking draws on the Greek-god Pan as a symbol for wild and unpredictable nature. The "pan" of technology refers to the Personal Area Network
( A personal area network
is the interconnection of information technology devices within the range of an individual person ) that merges human beings into an interconnected global social web. The "pan" of politics refers to the "inside/outside" distinction, and how, in an era of global challenges and global governance, the frame-of-reference for a global social has no outside.
is an interdisciplinary field of science which studies the nature and processes of complex systems of the physical and social sciences, as well as in information technology
. Lance Gunderson and C. S. Holling, in their book Panarchy: Understanding Transformations in Systems of Humans and Nature also simultaneously coined the term, saying:
The publisher describes the book’s theory thusly:
In Panarchy Gunderson and Holling write:
Demographics of Belgium
This article is about the demographic features of the population of Belgium, including ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population...
botanist and economist
Economist
An economist is a professional in the social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy...
Paul Emile de Puydt
Paul Émile de Puydt
Paul Émile de Puydt , a writer whose contributions included work in botany and economics, was born and died in Mons, Belgium.As a botanist, he notably wrote on orchids...
in 1860, referring to a specific form of governance (-archy) that would encompass (pan-) all others. The Oxford English Dictionary
Oxford English Dictionary
The Oxford English Dictionary , published by the Oxford University Press, is the self-styled premier dictionary of the English language. Two fully bound print editions of the OED have been published under its current name, in 1928 and 1989. The first edition was published in twelve volumes , and...
lists the noun as "chiefly poetic" with the meaning "a universal realm," citing a 1848 attestation by Philip James Bailey
Philip James Bailey
Philip James Bailey , English poet, author of Festus, was born at Nottingham.- Life :His father, who himself published both prose and verse, owned and edited from 1845 to 1852 the Nottingham Mercury, one of the chief journals in his native town...
, "the starry panarchy of space". The adjective panarchic "all-ruling" has earlier attestations. In the twentieth century the term was re-coined separately by scholars in international relations
International relations
International relations is the study of relationships between countries, including the roles of states, inter-governmental organizations , international nongovernmental organizations , non-governmental organizations and multinational corporations...
to describe the notion of global governance and then by systems theorists
Systems theory
Systems theory is the transdisciplinary study of systems in general, with the goal of elucidating principles that can be applied to all types of systems at all nesting levels in all fields of research...
to describe non-hierarchical organizing theories.
Panarchy as freely choosing government
In his 1860 article “Panarchy” de Puydt, who also expressed support for laissez-faire economics, applied the concept to the individual's right to choose any form of government without being forced to move from their current locale. This is sometimes described as "extra-territorial" (or "exterritorial") since governments often would serve non-contiguous parcels of land. De Puydt wrote:“The truth is that there is not enough of the right kind of freedom, the fundamental freedom to choose to be free or not to be free, according to one's preference....Thus I demand, for each and every member of human society, freedom of association according to inclination and of activity according to aptitude. In other words, the absolute right to choose the political surroundings in which to live, and to ask for nothing else.”
De Puydt described how such a system would be administered:
“In each community a new office is opened, a "Bureau of Political Membership". This office would send every responsible citizen a declaration form to fill in, just as for the income tax or dog registration: Question: What form of government would you desire? Quite freely you would answer, monarchy, or democracy, or any other... and once registered, unless you withdrew your declaration, respecting the legal forms and delays, you would thereby become either a royal subject or citizen of the republic. Thereafter you are in no way involved with anyone else's government—no more than a Prussian subject is with Belgian authorities.”
De Puydt’s definition of panarchy was expanded into a political philosophy of panarchism
Panarchism
Panarchism is a political philosophy emphasizing each individual's right to freely join and leave the jurisdiction of any governments they choose, without being forced to move from their current locale. The word "panarchy" was invented and the concept proposed by a Belgian political economist, Paul...
. It has been espoused by anarchist or libertarian
Libertarianism
Libertarianism, in the strictest sense, is the political philosophy that holds individual liberty as the basic moral principle of society. In the broadest sense, it is any political philosophy which approximates this view...
-leaning individuals, including especially Max Nettlau
Max Nettlau
Max Heinrich Hermann Reinhardt Nettlau was a German anarchist and historian. Although born in Neuwaldegg and raised in Vienna he retained his Prussian nationality throughout his life. A student of the Welsh language he spent time in London where he joined the Socialist League where he met...
and John Zube
John Zube
John Zube is a German-Australian libertarian activist and founder of the Libertarian Microfiche Publishing project.Born in Germany, Zube was introduced to libertarianism by his father, Kurt Zube, a prominent individualist anarchist persecuted under the Nazis...
.
Le Grand E. Day and others have used the phrase “multigovernment” to describe a similar system. Another similar idea is "Functional Overlapping Competing Jurisdictions" (FOCJ
FOCJ
Functional Overlapping Competing Jurisdictions is a moderate form of panarchy advocated by Swiss economists Bruno Frey and Reiner Eichenberger....
) promoted by Swiss economists Bruno Frey and Reiner Eichenberger.
Panarchy in Global Society
James P. Sewell and Mark B. Salter in their 1995 article "Panarchy and Other Norms for Global Governance” define panarchy as “an inclusive, universal system of governance in which all may participate meaningfully." They romanticize the term by mentioning the “playful Greek god Pan of sylvan and pastoral tranquillity, overseer of forests, shepherd of shepherds and their flocks. It thus connotes an archetypal steward of biospheric well-being."David Ronfeldt and John Arquilla, in their work on Netwar
Netwar
Netwar is a term developed by RAND researchers John Arquilla and David Ronfeldt to describe an emergent form of low intensity conflict, crime, and activism waged by social networked actors...
, which they describe as an emergent form of low intensity conflict, crime, and activism, that: "The design is a heterarchy
Heterarchy
A heterarchy is a system of organization replete with overlap, multiplicity, mixed ascendancy, and/or divergent-but-coexistent patterns of relation...
, but also what might be termed a 'panarchy.'"
Paul B. Hartzog writes in "Panarchy: Governance in the Network Age": “Panarchy is a transdisciplinary investigation into the political and cultural philosophy of ‘network culture.’ The primary fields of relevance for panarchy are world politics (international relations), political philosophy/theory, and information technology. Panarchy also draws on insights from information/communications theory, economics, sociology, networks, and complex systems."
In Paul B. Hartzog's work, the term "panarchy" emerges at the intersection of three core concepts: 1) ecology and complex systems, 2) technology, and 3) politics. The "pan" of ecological thinking draws on the Greek-god Pan as a symbol for wild and unpredictable nature. The "pan" of technology refers to the Personal Area Network
( A personal area network
Personal area network
A personal area network is a computer network used for communication among computer devices, including telephones and personal digital assistants, in proximity to an individual's body. The devices may or may not belong to the person in question. The reach of a PAN is typically a few meters...
is the interconnection of information technology devices within the range of an individual person ) that merges human beings into an interconnected global social web. The "pan" of politics refers to the "inside/outside" distinction, and how, in an era of global challenges and global governance, the frame-of-reference for a global social has no outside.
Panarchy in systems theory
Systems theorySystems theory
Systems theory is the transdisciplinary study of systems in general, with the goal of elucidating principles that can be applied to all types of systems at all nesting levels in all fields of research...
is an interdisciplinary field of science which studies the nature and processes of complex systems of the physical and social sciences, as well as in information technology
Information technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
. Lance Gunderson and C. S. Holling, in their book Panarchy: Understanding Transformations in Systems of Humans and Nature also simultaneously coined the term, saying:
"The term [panarchy] was coined as an antithesis to the word hierarchy (literally, sacred rules). Our view is that panarchy is a framework of nature's rules, hinted at by the name of the Greek god of nature, Pan."
The publisher describes the book’s theory thusly:
Panarchy, a term devised to describe evolving hierarchical systems with multiple interrelated elements, offers an important new framework for understanding and resolving this dilemma. Panarchy is the structure in which systems, including those of nature (e.g., forests) and of humans (e.g., capitalism), as well as combined human-natural systems (e.g., institutions that govern natural resource use such as the Forest Service), are interlinked in continual adaptive cycles of growth, accumulation, restructuring, and renewal.
In Panarchy Gunderson and Holling write:
"The cross-scale, interdisciplinary, and dynamic nature of the theory has led us to coin the term panarchy for it. Its essential focus is to rationalize the interplay between change and persistence, between the predictable and unpredictable."
See also
- AnarchismAnarchismAnarchism is generally defined as the political philosophy which holds the state to be undesirable, unnecessary, and harmful, or alternatively as opposing authority in the conduct of human relations...
- Anarchy in international relationsAnarchy in international relationsAnarchy in International Relations is a concept in International Relations theory holding that the world system is leaderless: there is no universal sovereign or worldwide government. There is thus no hierarchically superior, coercive power that can resolve disputes, enforce law, or order the...
- DecentralizationDecentralization__FORCETOC__Decentralization or decentralisation is the process of dispersing decision-making governance closer to the people and/or citizens. It includes the dispersal of administration or governance in sectors or areas like engineering, management science, political science, political economy,...
- Polycentric lawPolycentric lawPolycentric law is a legal structure in which providers of legal systems compete or overlap in a given jurisdiction, as opposed to monopolistic statutory law according to which there is a sole provider of law for each jurisdiction. Devolution of this monopoly occurs by the principle of...
- LibertarianismLibertarianismLibertarianism, in the strictest sense, is the political philosophy that holds individual liberty as the basic moral principle of society. In the broadest sense, it is any political philosophy which approximates this view...
- Mutualism (economic theory)Mutualism (economic theory)Mutualism is an anarchist school of thought that originates in the writings of Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, who envisioned a society where each person might possess a means of production, either individually or collectively, with trade representing equivalent amounts of labor in the free market...
- PolytelyPolytelyPolytely can be described as frequently, complex problem-solving situations characterized by the presence of not one, but several goals, endings.Modern societies face an increasing incidence of various complex problems...
- VoluntaryismVoluntaryismVoluntarism, or voluntaryism, is a philosophy according to which all forms of human association should be voluntary. This moral principle is called the non-aggression principle, which prohibits the initiation of aggressive force or coercion...
External links
- Panarchy.org Original usage
- Panarchy.com Modern usage, writings and discussion
- Panarchy.co.nz A manifesto to help organisations operate as a values-driven panarchy
- Gunderson and Holling's discussion of the word "panarchy" on the Resilience Alliance website
- Nicholas M. Gotts, Resilience, Panarchy, and Analysis, 2007. Compares panarchy to World-systems theory.
- The Panarchy Mansion at Dartmouth College Panarchy, a Dartmouth College undergraduate student group founded on Panarchist theory
- Panarchy at http://www.p2pfoundation.net
- Michael Rozeff - "Why I Am a Panarchist"