Author ORCID Identifier

0009-0008-4587-2757

Date of Award

8-31-2026

Document Type

Campus Access Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Conflict Resolution

First Advisor

Samuel Barkin

Second Advisor

Stacy VanDeveer

Third Advisor

Lisa Dellmuth

Abstract

My dissertation examines how wildlife institutions facilitate access to and use of wildlife, address threats to wildlife, and how these processes inform perceptions of legitimacy. The question for exploration is whether these institutions demonstrate that they integrate qualities such as democracy, fairness, and technocracy into their inputs and outputs, thereby legitimizing their authority in wildlife governance. This study employs doctrinal legal research to examine the input dimensions of legitimacy by analyzing the environmental provisions of African constitutions and Wildlife Laws and Regulations. Survey to examine the throughput dimension by exploring the perspective of people around Protected Areas (PAs) using confidence as a proxy to evaluate legitimacy. Spatial analysis to assess the output dimension by analyzing the status of PAs. Findings reveal that the constitution establishes a framework in which protection is primarily justified on rights-based grounds. This philosophical standpoint is operationalized through a wildlife legislative framework that includes exclusionary practices enforced by militarized institutions. Such strict enforcement alienates communities surrounding PAs through measures prioritizing wildlife over humans. Thus, respondents evaluating institutional quality did not practically shift their confidence scores and, consequently, their beliefs about legitimacy. A spatial analysis reveals that PAs are characterized by habitat destruction and raises questions about the effectiveness of wildlife institutions in sustaining their key preservation goals. This study posits that wildlife institutions derive their legitimacy from a legally codified structure rather than from public support. Redesigning institutions must prioritize re-coding legal structures to mandate qualities that confer sociological legitimacy.

Comments

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