Institutional Bricolage Processes of Irrigated Agriculture in Eastern Mancha, Spain. A Critical Institutionalism Study

Previous studies on irrigation and groundwater governance have largely focused on the actions of governments, overlooking how local practices and collective action inform governance dynamics in the context of water scarcity challenges (Zwarteveen et al., 2021; Chitata et al., 2023). Moreover, empirical findings indicate that the effects of designed irrigation institutions on governance outcomes may be overestimated (Wang et al., 2018). Consequently, further investigation is required to ascertain the impact of human actions on institutions within the local context. This thesis aims to bridge that knowledge gap by investigating the manner in which the interaction between local actors and formal institutions addressing water scarcity drives institutional bricolage processes in the context of irrigated agriculture in Eastern Mancha, Spain. The research utilizes an exploratory case study strategy, having the irrigation schemes of the region as the unit of analysis. The results of the analysis indicate that the interaction between irrigators and the introduction of formal institutions addressing water scarcity triggered processes of institutional bricolage, consequently driving changes in the local institutional framework. However, this study also identifies localized processes of bricolage that occur under different circumstances. While this study does not evaluate the outcomes of groundwater management, it provides a foundation for understanding institutional responses to challenging environmental conditions.