The Enlivenment of institutions: emotional work and the emergence of contemporary land commons in the Carpathian Mountains

Using the case of forest and pasture commons in the Carpathian Mountains, this paper examines the emotional work carried out in institutions, in creating and changing rules, accessing resources, in leadership and contestation processes. The recent restitution of land commons in Romania has created possibilities for participation in the field of relations that shape environments and governance. This paper brings empirical research, based on extensive fieldwork, to showcase disputes over grazing areas, allegations of deforestation and ecological neglect. The ethnographic approach helps reveal the intricate processes by which actors create, experience and rework institutions bottom-up. This paper argues for an enlivened approach to institutions as complex, emergent and relational entities. Using the lens of a relational-vitalist ontology, it emphasizes the depth and subtlety of activities carried out by people that bring forth institutions, and draws attention to the interconnectedness of productive, political and emotional labour.