An Analysis of Micro-scale Conflict in Collaborative Governance.

This article examines the role of micro-scale conflict—defined as interpersonal disagreements occurring during individual interactions—in collaborative governance, using the case of hydropower dam relicensing negotiations in California's Central Valley. Drawing on four years of meeting observations, stakeholder interviews, and public comment letters, it develops a typology of disagreement based on content, magnitude, directness, and persistence, and compares conflict dynamics in two relicensing cases with differing levels of collaboration. The study finds that in the highly collaborative case, disagreements were frequent, dynamic, and constructive, contributing to refining management approaches, whereas in the less collaborative case, disagreements were fewer, more static, and often dismissed. These findings suggest that micro-scale conflict is a pervasive and manageable element of collaborative governance that can facilitate or hinder policy outcomes depending on how it is engaged.