The state as a person: The role of interface bureaucrats in everyday natural resource governance

Understanding the role of state actors in natural resource governance requires a nuanced view that moves beyond a monolithic view of the state. The aim of this chapter is to encourage a grounded perspective on one particular group of state actors, namely the public servants who work at the frontline of the state as key actors in the everyday implementation of state policies and programmes within agriculture, water, forestry, community development and similar sectors. The chapter discusses five factors that are key to understanding the rationales and practices of interface bureaucrats, namely (i) their role as frontline representatives of the state, (ii) the local institutional and political dynamics of which they form part, (iii) their individual perceptions and interests, (iv) their professional and social networks, and (v) their informal practices. The chapter especially draws on the developing literature on the anthropologies of the African state but seeks to link this to other work in public administration studies, organisation studies, development studies and anthropology. To illustrate the discussion empirically, the chapter draws on the author’s involvement in research on the everyday implementation of climate policies and projects in Zambia.