Hybrid production of gardens: an actor–network analysis of heterogeneous power relations

Abstract

Gardens open to the public are popular tourism attractions. Even though human geographers have studied gardens from the perspective of actor–network theory (ANT), there has been little empirical research into the ways in which gardens open to the public are produced by a hybrid of human and non-human entities. In addition, despite its linkage with Foucault's relational notion of power, recent ANT-inspired studies are not explicit about the investigation of power relations between human and non-human actors. Therefore, this paper explores what kinds of heterogeneous power relations emerge when gardens open to the public are produced by a hybrid of human and non-humans. On account of its suitability for ANT, ethnomethodology was employed as a methodological underpinning and qualitative data were collected from fieldwork conducted in gardens open to the public in Scotland. The paper contributes to the geographical school of tourism by suggesting four types of heterogeneous power relations: coercion, acquiescence, negotiation and synergistic transaction. Coercion refers to a relation in which one actor's will or identity is forcefully marginalised by another actor; acquiescence is a relation in which an actor unwillingly accepts its marginalised status whereas another actor maintains its ruling status; negotiation denotes a situation in which power balance between heterogeneous actors are provisional; synergistic transaction is a hybrid assemblage that brings a greater effect, than that of a single actor, on the enhancement of tourism spaces. The paper concludes by discussing how the proposed typology helps ANT researchers rethink the production of tourism spaces, and by asking readers what other types of heterogeneous power relations are possible.

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