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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 .^[1] 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.

Panarchy as freely choosing government

In his 1860 article “Panarchy” de Puydt, a firm supporter of 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:

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^[2] and John Zube.^[3]^[4]

Le Grand E. Day and others have used the phrase “multigovernment” to describe a similar system.^[5] Another similar idea is "Functional Overlapping Competing Jurisdictions" (FOCJ) promoted by Swiss economists Bruno Frey and Reiner Eichenberger.

Panarchy in global governance

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."^[6]

Panarchy in systems theory

Systems theory 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 also use the term in their 2001 book Panarchy: Understanding Transformations in Systems of Humans and Nature.^[7] The publisher describes the book’s theory thusly:

Paul B. Hartzog writes on the P2PFoundation.Net^{[unreliable source?]}: “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 a master’s essay entitled "Panarchy: Governance in the Network Age" Hartzog states that “the emerging complexity of our social and political structures, composed of many interacting agents, combined with the increasing importance of network forms of organization, enabled by technologies that increase connectivity, propels the world system towards a transformation that culminates in a global political environment that is made up of a diversity of spheres of governance, the whole of which is called panarchy. To clarify, global linkages between individuals and groups create transnational networks consisting of shared norms and goals.”^[9]

These systems theories do not necessarily contradict de Puydt’s emphasis on individuals choosing between competing governance system because these theories of panarchy emphasize more free-wheeling and equalitarian heterarchical as opposed to top-down hierarchical organizing principles.

Etymology

As noted above, Panarchy is a conceptual term first coined by the Belgian political economist Paul Emile de Puydt in 1860. The OED lists the noun as "chiefly poet." 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.^[10]

There are a number of relevant uses of the word "panarchy" in recent scholarship.

Gunderson and Holling, in their book Panarchy: Understanding Transformations in Systems of Humans and Nature also simultaneously coined the term, saying:

References

^ P. E. de Puydt, Panarchy, first published in French in the Revue Trimestrielle, Bruxelles, July 1860.
^ Max Nettlau, Panarchy, A Forgotten Idea of 1860, 1909.
^ Ehrlich, Howard J. 1996. Reinventing Anarchy, Again. AK Press. p. 131
^ John Zube, The Gospel of Panarchy, 1986.
^ Le Grand E. Day, The Theory of Multigovernment, 1969-1977.
^ Etymology of Panarchy on P2pFoundation.Net quoting from James P. Sewell and Mark B. Salter, "Panarchy and Other Norms for Global Governance: Boutros-Ghali, Rosenau, and Beyond", Global Governance, vol. 1, no. 3, pp. 373-382, 1995.
^ L.H. Gunderson and Holling, C.S. Panarchy: Understanding Transformations in Systems of Humans and Nature. Island Press. 2001.
^ Island Press Bookstore description of Gunderson and Holling's Panarchy.
^ Paul B. Hartzog, "Panarchy: Governance in the Network Age", Master's Essay, University of Utah
^ Ben Jonson, The Alchemist II.v.15: Ars sacra, Or chrysopoeia, or spagyrica, Or the pamphysic, or panarchic knowledge [viz., alchemy ]
^ Ronfeldt and Arquilla, In Athena’s Camp: Preparing for Conflict in the Information Age, p.280.

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Contents

Panarchy as freely choosing government

Panarchy in global governance

Panarchy in systems theory

Etymology

References

See also

External links