Abstract This paper explores the relationship between governance contexts and the development and outcomes of Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA). The main objective of this paper is to understand if, and how, the governance context may influence the system and institutionalisation of SEA, and the capacity of SEA to reach its objectives. The research methodology is based on the comparison of six country-cases that have an established SEA system, including three European countries, two Asian countries and one in Latin American, with distinct national culture and political-administrative setting. Results show that cultural and institutional values impact how SEA is interpreted and carried out, and that SEA systems are facing constraints of a more normative and cognitive nature. Connecting governance contexts and patterns in the SEA systems confirm that SEA is not ‘context free’, but instead ‘context-influenced’, while its capacity is dependent on its level of adaptation to the governance environment.

中文翻译：

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不同治理背景如何影响战略环境评估的比较分析

摘要 本文探讨了治理背景与战略环境评估 (SEA) 的发展和结果之间的关系。本文的主要目的是了解治理环境是否以及如何影响 SEA 的系统和制度化，以及 SEA 实现其目标的能力。研究方法基于对六个已建立 SEA 系统的国家案例的比较，包括三个欧洲国家、两个亚洲国家和一个拉丁美洲国家，具有不同的民族文化和政治行政环境。结果表明，文化和制度价值观会影响 SEA 的解释和执行方式，并且 SEA 系统正面临更具规范性和认知性的约束。