The SPA-cube framework: An integrated approach for analysing power dynamics in environmental governance

TL;DR

The SPA-Cube Framework is a new method for analyzing how power changes over time in environmental governance, combining different theories into one structured approach.

Contribution

The SPA-Cube Framework integrates three power analysis approaches into a replicable protocol for dynamic, multidimensional power analysis in environmental governance.

Findings

The framework enables simultaneous analysis of when, how, and why power shifts across policy interventions.

It explains paradoxical outcomes, such as empowerment strategies reinforcing existing power structures.

Validated through a 36-month ethnographic study in Indonesia, it offers a structured workflow for tracking power dynamics.

Abstract

This article presents the SPA-Cube Framework, an integrated methodological protocol that addresses key limitations in power analysis for environmental governance. Traditional approaches often employ singular or static lenses, failing to capture power’s multidimensional, dynamic, and governmental nature. Our framework systematically integrates three complementary pillars: Gaventa’s Power Cube (typologizing visible, hidden, and invisible power), governmentality theory (revealing rationalities and technologies of rule), and Sequential Power Analysis (providing temporal sequencing and actor-centric focus). This synthesis enables researchers to simultaneously examine when and how power shifts, what forms it takes, and why it operates as it does across policy interventions. The framework helps explain paradoxical outcomes, such as how empowerment strategies can inadvertently reinforce existing structures. Developed and validated through a 36-month ethnographic study in Indonesia, it offers a novel tool for navigating complex power dynamics by providing a structured protocol that integrates temporal, typological, and governmental analyses into one workflow.•Offers a replicable, step-by-step procedure for conducting integrated power analysis across policy cycles.•Enables dynamic tracking of power across three phases: background conditions, intervention delivery, and post-intervention adjustments.•Analyses visible, hidden, and invisible power with a focus on how technologies of rule shape subject formation.

Offers a replicable, step-by-step procedure for conducting integrated power analysis across policy cycles.

Enables dynamic tracking of power across three phases: background conditions, intervention delivery, and post-intervention adjustments.

Analyses visible, hidden, and invisible power with a focus on how technologies of rule shape subject formation.

Image, graphical abstract

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