A semiautomated approach to analyzing polycentricity

For decades, institutional scholars have embraced the concept of polycentricity as a way to describe systems of governance with multiple, overlapping centers of authority. However, intellectual progress on polycentricity has been constrained by inconsistent conceptual measurement, an overemphasis on small‐ n versus large‐ n research designs, a lack of attention to the variation in actors and authorities across policy‐specific issues, and unrefined methods of data analyses. This article offers a new path forward by applying a semiautomated approach to conduct a comparative analysis of polycentricity within and between 11 oil and gas regulations in Colorado, USA. Drawing lessons from the Institutional Analysis and Development Framework and network analyses, dyadic network relations between actors and rules were used to describe the polycentric structure of Colorado's oil and gas regulations. The polycentric structure that emerges features core and peripheral actors who vary in their associations to rules and imperatives (i.e., deontics). The conclusion presents an agenda for advancing knowledge of polycentricity and institutional design using these conceptual and methodological foundations.