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A Critical Realist Perspective on Waste Management: Towards an Integrated Theoretical Framework

Marc Jacquinet

Março de 2025

 

Introduction

The complex nature of waste management systems demands theoretical frameworks capable of addressing multiple layers of reality, causal mechanisms, and social structures. Critical realism, as developed by Roy Bhaskar and others, provides a sophisticated philosophical foundation for analyzing waste management systems through its stratified ontology and emphasis on causal powers, emergence, and social structures.

 

Theoretical Foundations

Critical Realism’s Ontological Framework

Critical realism posits three domains of reality: the empirical (observable experiences), the actual (events that occur whether observed or not), and the real (underlying mechanisms and structures) (Bhaskar, 2008). This stratified ontology is particularly relevant to waste management, where surface-level phenomena are produced by deeper social, economic, and material mechanisms.

Emergence and Complexity

Waste management systems exhibit emergent properties that cannot be reduced to their constituent parts. Following Elder-Vass’s (2010) theorization of emergence, we can understand waste management as involving multiple interacting causal powers operating at different levels of reality:

  1. Material-physical level
  2. Technological-infrastructural level
  3. Social-organizational level
  4. Cultural-normative level

Critical Analysis of Waste Management Systems

Structural Mechanisms

Drawing on Archer’s (1995) morphogenetic approach, we can identify three temporal phases in waste management systems:

  1. Structural conditioning
  • Pre-existing waste infrastructure
  • Established regulatory frameworks
  • Historical disposal patterns
  1. Social interaction
  • Stakeholder negotiations
  • Public participation processes
  • Technical decision-making
  1. Structural elaboration
  • System modifications
  • Policy adaptations
  • Behavioral changes

Power Relations and Knowledge Production

Following Sayer’s (2000) critical realist approach to power, waste management systems can be analyzed through:

  1. Material power relations
  • Resource control
  • Infrastructure ownership
  • Technical expertise
  1. Discursive power relations
  • Problem definition
  • Solution framing
  • Knowledge legitimation

 

Methodological Implications

Research Design

Critical realism suggests specific methodological approaches for waste management research:

  1. Retroductive analysis
  • Identifying generative mechanisms
  • Examining causal powers
  • Understanding emergent properties
  1. Mixed methods integration
  • Quantitative system analysis
  • Qualitative stakeholder research
  • Historical-comparative studies

Data Analysis

Following Danermark et al.’s (2002) framework:

  1. Description of concrete phenomena
  2. Analytical resolution
  3. Abduction/theoretical redescription
  4. Retroduction
  5. Comparison between theories
  6. Concretization and contextualization

 

Policy Implications

System Design

Critical realist insights suggest:

  1. Multi-level interventions
  • Technical infrastructure
  • Social organization
  • Cultural norms
  1. Adaptive management approaches
  • Recognition of emergence
  • Flexible response systems
  • Iterative learning processes

Governance Structures

Following Jessop’s (2002) strategic-relational approach:

  1. Institutional design
  • Power distribution
  • Accountability mechanisms
  • Stakeholder engagement
  1. Policy instruments
  • Regulatory frameworks
  • Economic incentives
  • Information systems

Theoretical Development

Integration with Other Theories

Critical realism provides a meta-theoretical framework that can integrate:

  1. Systems theory
  2. Institutional theory
  3. Social practice theory
  4. Actor-network theory

Future Research Directions

Key areas for theoretical development include:

  1. Emergence mechanisms in waste systems
  2. Power dynamics in system transformation
  3. Knowledge integration across scales
  4. Adaptive governance structures

 

References

Archer, M. S. (1995). Realist Social Theory: The Morphogenetic Approach. Cambridge University Press.

Bhaskar, R. (2008). A Realist Theory of Science. Routledge.

Danermark, B., Ekström, M., Jakobsen, L., & Karlsson, J. C. (2002). Explaining Society: Critical Realism in the Social Sciences. Routledge.

Elder-Vass, D. (2010). The Causal Power of Social Structures: Emergence, Structure and Agency. Cambridge University Press.

Jessop, B. (2002). The Future of the Capitalist State. Polity Press.

Sayer, A. (2000). Realism and Social Science. Sage.

Further Reading

Collier, A. (1994). Critical Realism: An Introduction to Roy Bhaskar’s Philosophy. Verso.

Mingers, J. (2006). Realising Systems Thinking: Knowledge and Action in Management Science. Springer.

Pawson, R. (2006). Evidence-Based Policy: A Realist Perspective. Sage.

Porpora, D. V. (2015). Reconstructing Sociology: The Critical Realist Approach. Cambridge University Press.


OpenEdition vous propose de citer ce billet de la manière suivante :
Marc Jacquinet (30 mars 2025). A Critical Realist Perspective on Waste Management: Towards an Integrated Theoretical Framework. Critique du management. Consulté le 10 mai 2026 à l’adresse https://doi.org/10.58079/13lir


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