Socio-technological-ecological systems, territory and regulatory resilience
Theoretical elements for the discussion on socio-ecological transitions in Latin America
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21910/rbsd.v13i3.1018Keywords:
socio-ecological systems, socio-technical transitions, territory, Social Systems Theory, socio-ecological resilienceAbstract
This article proposes a set of theoretical elements for analysing socio-ecological problems from the perspective of social systems theory, with particular attention to the resilience of territories undergoing socio-ecological transition. Faced with the proliferation of frameworks that currently compete to define the relationship between society, nature and technology, the article proposes interpreting them not as rival theories but as medium-range approaches that a general theory of society can integrate. On this basis, four proposals are developed. Firstly, the socio-ecological system is reformulated as a ‘system-of-systems’ sustained by second-order couplings, extending it to encompass the socio-technical-ecological realm. Secondly, ‘territory’ is introduced as the vantage point from which to observe this system-of-systems: the place where the vertical differentiation of the social (interactions and organisations) is materially and culturally anchored, and where culture functions as memory. Thirdly, the concept of resilience is clarified through a set of analytical distinctions. Fourthly, the ‘normative dimension’ of resilience is elaborated, arguing that describing resilience already requires deciding what counts as the maintenance of identity; that this decision is not made by the system observing itself, but rather by the conflict between rationalities that second-order reflexivity makes possible; and that socio- -ecological coupling anchors this dispute by preventing it from being reduced to a mere balance of power against material thresholds that cannot be negotiated. In this context, socio-techno-ecological transitions ultimately emerge as the arena where normative resilience is resolved, and where governance is positioned as a third-order coupling.
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