Shifting balance theory Shifting balance theory The shifting balance theory is a theory of evolution proposed in 1932 by Sewall Wright, suggesting that adaptive evolution may proceed most quickly when a population divides into subpopulations with restricted gene flow. The name of the theory is borrowed from Wright's metaphor of fitness landscapes (evolutionary landscapes), attempting to explain how a population may move across an adaptive valley to a higher adaptive peak. According to the theory, this movement occurs in three steps: Although shifting balance theory has been influential in evolutionary biology, inspiring the theories of quantum evolution and punctuated equilibrium, little empirical evidence
Evolutionary Governance Theory and Development studies. EGT offers a framework for understanding how actors, subjects, objects, formal and informal institutions, and knowledge are in a continuous process of co-evolution, how different dependencies influence the course of evolution, and how different evolutionary pathways are created and influencing each other’s development. Within EGT social systems theory is compatible with a version of discourse theory, largely in line with the Michel Foucault tradition, while also offering a place for actors and their strategizing. Evolutionary Governance Theory links up with the literature on social-ecological and complex-adaptive systems, with an emphasis on the processes and mechanisms that drive