ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the use of Bhaskar’s lamination to make sense of the vast literature on collective action. The literature review in the chapter was part of a broader study that investigated collective action as essential for attaining the principles of equity and sustainability set out in the post-apartheid South African Water Act. A laminated analysis of the literature revealed important insights such as: when dealing with collective action we need to appreciate that all the levels of reality are acting simultaneously on a given context and cannot be resolved in isolation; collective action is inhibited or constrained at different levels and scales by different things; and collective action is not suspended in a fixed context and cannot be encouraged by following a set formula. These insights point to the importance of learning to adapt as a core principle of collective action. Drawing on this research and experience of how collective action can be supported or inhibited gives insight into understanding our current limitations in supporting collective action and in understanding the kinds of collective action encounters that are occurring in catchments in South Africa. These understandings have implications for how we consider learning, and the potential contributions of learning-led change.
