ABSTRACT
T HE IDEA OF ADAPTIVE GOVERNANCE —a new generation of governance institutions capable of dealing with so-called second-order problems—raises a litany of questions. Does the American political system respond to increasing and competing demands by adapting its institutional structures efficiently and equitably? More specifically, can the bureaucratic apparatus in Florida, operating within the “adversarial legalism” of the American regulatory system (Kagan 2001) and its constitutional separation and fragmentation (Moe and Caldwell 1994), reinvent itself to meet the policy challenges presented by rising consumption of, and competition over, scarce water supplies and resources and by technological hurdles and uncertainty? Should we view events in Florida optimistically as adaptation to changing issues and stakeholders and, ideally, can we provide helpful and feasible policy recommendations? 1
