Collective Learning through Climate Knowledge Systems: the Case of South Africa

Abstract

Climate knowledge systems capture how collective learning takes place in climate governance. The pragmatic-constructivist concept advances Emanuel Adler's cognitive evolution approach. It shows how different types of knowledge, communities of practice, power and feedback-loops connect systematically and influence processes of change in domestic climate governance. This paper develops the concept and tests two hypotheses in an exploratory way for the case of South Africa, (1) on the existence and impact of the knowledge system and (2) on the relevance of the knowledge type ‘pragmatic knowledge’ for advancing climate governance. The study has a mixed-methods design, drawing on data from an expert survey and a series of semi-structured interviews. The results confirm the existence of a knowledge system in South Africa that revolves around a small number of communities of practice. It has begun to provide a dynamic order and advances learning and change, but as yet communities of practice lack power to widely institutionalize new knowledge and practices.

Acknowledgements

The author thanks Klaus Jacob, Miranda Schreurs, Robert Kappel, Miriam Prys, Malte Gephart and Meenakshi Preisser for their helpful comments and suggestions. Funding for the research in South Africa was provided by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD).

Notes

The meaning of the knowledge dimensions scientific, technological, normative and ideological knowledge in the climate change context have been clarified through an email exchange with Emmanuel Adler in Spring 2009.

The ten countries are Argentina, Brazil, China, Democratic Republic Congo, India, Indonesia, Iran, Mexico, South Africa, South Korea.

Interviews with Government 3, 15/02/2010, Pretoria; Expert 3, 02/03/2010, Cape Town; Expert 5, 20/01/2010, Johannesburg.

Interview with Government 3, id.

Interviews with eg Business 4, 03/02/2010, Pretoria; Business 6, 03/03/2010, Cape Town; Business 7, 04/03/2010, Cape Town.

Interview with Business 3, 05/02/2010, Johannesburg.

E.g. Interview with Academic/Expert 5, 15/02/2010, Johannesburg.

Interview with Government 1, 27/01/2010, Pretoria.

Interviews with Business 4, 03/02/, Pretoria; Government 5, 02/03/2010; observation of print media such as Mail&Guardian and Engineering News over various years. No methodological content analysis of the media was undertaken.

Interview with Business 5, 03/03/10, Cape Town.

E.g. Interview with Academic/Expert 9, 02/03/2010, Cape Town.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Babette Never

GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies and University of Hamburg