This article examines how a regional drainage system in the northern part of Holland in the Late Middle Ages could emerge despite the fact that the weak central state was hardly able to provide the necessary coordination nor prevent free-riding. Institutions, defined as rules and norms, including practices, procedures and techniques, play a key role in the argument. Four traditional administrative practices are identified as essential to the emergence of regional water control: a broad consultation process, by which opponents of new plans were also heard; landowners giving their explicit consent to plans and their costs; the proportional division of the costs; and the use of compensation for damage suffered. These practices respected local autonomy and broadened the level of support among the local stakeholders. The effectiveness of the practices was strengthened when they were used in combination with a technique provided by the Habsburg state: the enqueste or inquiry. This was a technique for gathering reliable, relevant and detailed information at the local and regional level. In this case study, the information on landscape and water use, collected by the 1544 Commission of Inquiry, facilitated cooperation between communities that enjoyed a high degree of self-governance.

中文翻译：

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权力下放国家的区域规划：行政实践如何促进 16 世纪荷兰的共识建立

本文考察了中世纪晚期荷兰北部的区域性排水系统是如何出现的，尽管弱小的中央国家几乎无法提供必要的协调，也无法阻止搭便车。制度，被定义为规则和规范，包括实践、程序和技术，在争论中发挥着关键作用。四种传统的行政做法被认为对区域水资源控制的出现至关重要： 广泛的协商过程，也听取了反对新计划的意见；土地所有者明确同意计划及其费用；成本的比例分配；以及对遭受的损害使用赔偿。这些做法尊重地方自治并扩大了地方利益相关者的支持水平。当将这些做法与哈布斯堡王朝提供的一种技术结合使用时，这些做法的有效性得到了加强：调查或调查。这是一种在地方和区域层面收集可靠、相关和详细信息的技术。在本案例研究中，1544 调查委员会收集的景观和水资源利用信息促进了高度自治的社区之间的合作。