Public Decision-Making as Coevolution

The main argument of this article is that public decision-making has an anthropocentric focus that lacks explanatory power. An alternative approach is suggested. This approach reframes decision-making as a process of coevolution between decision-makers and the system they attempt to govern. Coevolution can explain the occurrence of unintended, unforeseen and unwanted consequences of decisions. The framework is applied to analyze a case of planning port extensions in Hamburg, Germany, in order to demonstrate the workings of the coevolutionary approach to public decision-making processes