No easy way out: towards a framework concept of long-term governance

Abstract

Background Problems such as climate change, environmental pollution, nuclear disposal and unsustainable produc‑ tion and consumption share a common feature: they pose long-term challenges because of their complex nature, potentially severe consequences, and the demanding problem-solving paths. These challenges may have long-lasting impacts on both present and future generations and, therefore, require to be addressed through a long-term govern‑ ance perspective, i.e., coherent and consistent policy-making across sectors, institutions, and temporal scales. Deal‑ ing with these challenges is a core task of policy-making in modern societies, which requires problem-solving skills and capabilities. In this context, we identify long-term governance traces in the literature, illustrate the case of energy transition towards renewable energy systems as a long-term governance case, and elaborate on the scope and defini‑ tion of long-term governance and its research. Main text We elaborate an analytical framework for long-term governance (LTG), based on five building blocks: the environment, which details the policy-making arena; the policy issues, which elaborates on the problems to be dealt with by LTG; the key challenges and driving force, revealing LTG mechanisms; the key strategies, in which prom‑ ising approaches for LTG are identified; and the policy cycle, where governance impacts on different policy phases are discussed. In essence, we understand long-term governance at its core as a reflexive policy-making process to address significant enduring and persistent problems within a strategy-based decision-making arena to best prepare for, navi‑ gate through, and experiment with a changing environment. Conclusions The framework does not describe specific processes or individual cases in detail. Instead, it should be understood as an illustration of long-term governance characteristics at a more general level. Such a framework may help to structure the field of long-term policy-making, guide future research on conceptual, comparative, and empiri‑ cal in-depth studies, and may provide orientation and action knowledge for making our governance system sustain‑ able. Stimulating and broadening research on long-term issues seems indispensable, given the existence of several grand challenges that require successful long-term governance.