From historical institution to pars pro toto. The commons and their revival in historical perspective

The commons are witnessing a true revival in many parts of the world. The “commons” is hereby used in a context where citizens solve personal and/or societal problems as a group, and thereby also create a collective product or service, which they try to govern collectively. Until the end of the 20th century contributions to the analysis of institutional change oscillated between sophisticated theoretical exercises and the in-depth analysis of a small number of case studies, mostly ignoring their long-term development. Understanding the dynamics of small-scale cooperation within a changing environment represents a fundamental challenge for 21st-century scholars—with findings likely to have immediate impact on the design of more resilient communities around the globe. Building a resilient organization is a time-dependent process, of which the impact can only become visible if considerable time has passed. Resilience has been a major issue in the study of commons.