by Christopher K. Ansell, Kevin Orr and Philipp Trein

In their recent article, Between win–win and the manufacturing of consent: collaborative governance as a lightning rod in cannabis policy, authors Christopher Ansell, Kevin Orr and Philipp Trein explore how power operates in collaborative governance processes by analysing the case of cannabis policy in the San Francisco Bay Area. Drawing on interviews, field observations and document analysis, the authors examine how collaborative arenas shaped policy implementation following California’s legalisation of recreational cannabis in 2018. They argue that, while collaboration was formally inclusive and participatory, the dynamics of power often led not to a balanced, negotiated consensus, but to the emergence of a dominant agenda advanced by activist policy entrepreneurs.