Unlocking the potential of gaming for anticipatory governance

Joost Vervoort; Astrid Mangnus; Steven McGreevy; Kazuhiko Ota; Kyle Thompson; Christoph Rupprecht; Norie Tamura; Carien Moossdorff; Max Spiegelberg; Mai Kobayashi

Earth System Governance (Jan 2022)

Unlocking the potential of gaming for anticipatory governance

Joost Vervoort,
Astrid Mangnus,
Steven McGreevy,
Kazuhiko Ota,
Kyle Thompson,
Christoph Rupprecht,
Norie Tamura,
Carien Moossdorff,
Max Spiegelberg,
Mai Kobayashi

Affiliations

Joost Vervoort: Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, Utrecht University, Vening Meinesz building, Princetonlaan 8a, 3584, CB Utrecht, the Netherlands; Urban Futures Studio, Utrecht University, Vening Meinesz building, Heidelberglaan 8, 3584, CS Utrecht, the Netherlands; Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford, 3 South Parks Road, OX1 3QY, Oxford, United Kingdom; FEAST Project, Research Institute for Humanity and Nature, 457-4 Motoyama, Kamigamo, Kita-ku, Kyoto, 603-8047, Japan; Corresponding author. Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, Utrecht University, Vening Meinesz building, Princetonlaan 8a, 3584, CB Utrecht, the Netherlands.
Astrid Mangnus: Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, Utrecht University, Vening Meinesz building, Princetonlaan 8a, 3584, CB Utrecht, the Netherlands; Urban Futures Studio, Utrecht University, Vening Meinesz building, Heidelberglaan 8, 3584, CS Utrecht, the Netherlands
Steven McGreevy: FEAST Project, Research Institute for Humanity and Nature, 457-4 Motoyama, Kamigamo, Kita-ku, Kyoto, 603-8047, Japan
Kazuhiko Ota: FEAST Project, Research Institute for Humanity and Nature, 457-4 Motoyama, Kamigamo, Kita-ku, Kyoto, 603-8047, Japan
Kyle Thompson: Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, Utrecht University, Vening Meinesz building, Princetonlaan 8a, 3584, CB Utrecht, the Netherlands
Christoph Rupprecht: FEAST Project, Research Institute for Humanity and Nature, 457-4 Motoyama, Kamigamo, Kita-ku, Kyoto, 603-8047, Japan
Norie Tamura: FEAST Project, Research Institute for Humanity and Nature, 457-4 Motoyama, Kamigamo, Kita-ku, Kyoto, 603-8047, Japan
Carien Moossdorff: Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, Utrecht University, Vening Meinesz building, Princetonlaan 8a, 3584, CB Utrecht, the Netherlands
Max Spiegelberg: FEAST Project, Research Institute for Humanity and Nature, 457-4 Motoyama, Kamigamo, Kita-ku, Kyoto, 603-8047, Japan
Mai Kobayashi: FEAST Project, Research Institute for Humanity and Nature, 457-4 Motoyama, Kamigamo, Kita-ku, Kyoto, 603-8047, Japan

Journal volume & issue: Vol. 11
p. 100130

Abstract

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Games offer unique possibilities for imagining and experimenting with new systems of governance for more sustainable futures – new rules and institutions, new roles, and new dynamic worlds. However, research on sustainability games has mostly investigated games as a type of futures method, largely divorced from its societal contexts. In this paper, we argue that to unlock the potential of gaming for anticipatory governance in the service of a more sustainable future, it is important take a whole-society perspective, and examine the possibilities and challenges offered by contextual factors. Using the Netherlands and Japan as examples, we investigate the following questions: 1) How do governance cultures allow or restrict opportunities for the participatory exploration of futures using games? 2) How does, and can, the game sector in a given context support anticipatory gaming? 3) How do dominant societal relationships with games limit, and offer opportunities for, gaming for anticipatory governance?

Published in Earth System Governance

ISSN: 2589-8116 (Online)
Publisher: Elsevier
Country of publisher: Netherlands
LCC subjects: Law: Law in general. Comparative and uniform law. Jurisprudence: Comparative law. International uniform law: Environmental law; Political science
Website: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/earth-system-governance

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