Rule-mediated connectivity in social-ecological-technological systems: A comparative network analysis of reservoir operation rules in Coyote Valley Dam (United States) and Ameghino Dam (Argentina)

In the management of reservoirs, different forms of infrastructure (such as dams, hydropower units, information) are functionally interdependent and often managed by different types of actors to form a social-ecological-technological system. Such interdependence also occurs because institutions (understood as rules that guide and constrain actor behavior) exist to indicate how infrastructures should be managed. We apply institutional analysis and social network analysis to identify how functionally interdependent infrastructures and actors are connected by formal rules created to manage reservoir operations in Argentina (Ameghino Dam, Chubut) and the United States (Coyote Valley Dam, California). Using Exponential Random Graph Models and motif analysis we develop and test hypotheses about which types of patterns of rule-mediated interdependence are more likely to occur in the management of reservoir operations as well as how contextual features, such as the socio-political environment and the types of actors involved, influence rule-mediated interdependence in social-ecological-technological systems. We find that the type of actors involved and the socio-political context in which rules are designed shape the patterns of rule-mediated interdependencies. These findings shed light on and call for more attention to the role that formal rules play in shaping infrastructure management across socio-political contexts.