Expert opinion
Elinor Ostrom: why shared projects need understandable rules
Shared projects need trust, fairness and clear commitments. We compare Elinor Ostrom’s ideas with Islamic partnership ethics and musharakah: how to agree before starting and preserve brotherhood while working together.
The ethical foundation of partnership
In the Quran’s account of Prophet Dawud, Allah conveys a warning about injustice between partners. An editorial rendering of the meaning of this passage reads:
“Many partners indeed treat one another unjustly, except those who believe and perform righteous deeds; yet such people are few.”
Surah Sad, 38:24. The verse warns of a risk and identifies an ethical direction: belief and righteous action.
For a Muslim, this underpins the way a shared venture should be approached: accountability before Allah should be expressed through respect for a partner’s rights. Our practical editorial conclusion is to keep honest records, fulfil promises, avoid exploiting trust and acknowledge mistakes. Calling someone a brother cannot replace these actions. Readers of any faith can ask: are the other person’s rights protected when the decision is mine?
What the research showed
In 2009, Elinor Ostrom received the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel for research into economic governance, especially the commons. As NobelPrize.org explains, studies of local communities showed that users of pastures, forests and other resources can develop workable rules for sharing them.
This is an editorial discussion of the scholar’s published ideas, not a new interview or a comment given to this journal.
Why good intentions are not enough
Imagine a fictional garden where several families share an irrigation channel. If the first family takes all the available water, the others cannot water their plants. If nobody maintains the channel, everyone suffers. An appeal to be friendly is insufficient: agreements need to be practical and verifiable.
Useful questions for this editorial example are specific: who uses the channel, how is watering time allocated, who contributes to upkeep, and where are disputes discussed? These questions are neither an Ostrom quotation nor an account of a particular field study.
No universal recipe
In an interview published on NobelPrize.org, Ostrom explained that her principles describe shared features of enduring systems, while their application varies. Another group’s successful arrangements therefore cannot simply be copied everywhere.
In our garden, the schedule must reflect the actual water supply and the plots’ needs. Participants need to understand the reasons behind decisions and be able to report problems. Otherwise, rules on paper may differ from what happens at the channel.
Our practical editorial takeaway for joint projects: before buying shared equipment or opening a shared workshop, discuss access, costs, maintenance and dispute resolution. This is an analogy, not a claim that the research guarantees any business will succeed. Trust gains support when everyone understands their rights and responsibilities.
What the Islamic approach adds
Ostrom studied how people govern shared resources. Islamic ethics establishes moral duties, while Islamic finance sets rules for particular contractual relationships. This comparison is the editorial team’s analysis; we do not attribute research on Sharia to Ostrom. The common concern is fair, understandable rules and responsibility for carrying them out.
The Quran calls for cooperation in goodness and righteousness (5:2) and fulfilment of obligations (5:1). The verse about debt with a specified term calls for recording it (2:282). That passage directly addresses debt; it does not make every partnership a loan. Our practical conclusion is that combining efforts can be valuable, and recording material terms helps protect rights and trust.
Musharakah: sharing participation and outcomes
Musharakah is an Islamic finance partnership in which the parties contribute capital to a joint venture. Shares of actual profit are agreed in advance; ordinary business losses follow capital contributions. A profit share cannot be replaced with a guaranteed sum or fixed return on invested capital. These basics appear in the State Bank of Pakistan’s explanations.
An illustrative example: two working partners invest RUB 600,000 and RUB 400,000 and agree to divide profit equally. Distributable profit of RUB 200,000 gives each RUB 100,000. An ordinary loss of RUB 100,000 falls on them as RUB 60,000 and RUB 40,000 respectively. This is an educational example, not a return promise. Damage caused by breach of contract or negligence cannot automatically be treated as an ordinary shared loss: liability requires separate assessment. The distinction also appears in the regulator’s published material on standards.
Not every collaboration automatically qualifies as musharakah. The permissibility of activities and terms, management authority and the particular contract require review. This article explains basics; it does not certify a contract’s Sharia compliance.
Agree rigorously, carry out the agreement as brothers
“Negotiate like enemies, perform as brothers” is used here as a practical saying, without attribution to the Quran, a hadith or a named scholar. “Like enemies” means discussing difficult scenarios clearly and respectfully in advance: duties, verification, losses and departure. It is not an instruction to be hostile, suspicious or unfair.
The opposite can happen: “We are brothers; we will sort it out later.” One expects daily work; the other believes their contribution is financial only. Both assume the other handles purchasing. One calls a cash withdrawal profit; the other sees money needed for materials. Unspoken expectations become resentment, blurred responsibility and arguments.
Performing as brothers means respecting the agreed terms, helping one another and reporting difficulties promptly. Concessions must be voluntary, and revised agreements should also be recorded. Brotherhood gives no right to demand that a partner surrender money or remain silent about wrongdoing.
What to settle before starting
Before the first shared expense, discuss and record:
- Purpose and contributions: the venture, amounts, deadlines and ownership of contributed assets.
- Work and authority: responsibility for sales, purchasing and accounts; individual and joint decisions.
- Money: profit and expense calculations, distributions, losses and additional investment.
- Transparency: document storage, access to accounts and balances, and reporting frequency.
- Difficulties and departure: unmet commitments, amendments, valuation of a share and exit arrangements.
- Disagreements: joint fact checking, an agreed mediator and the lawful dispute process specified in the contract.
Start by writing your expectations on these six points separately, then compare answers. Finding differences before buying equipment is better than discovering them after an argument. For an actual transaction, document the terms in line with applicable law and the chosen Islamic finance arrangement.
A clear contract helps preserve brotherhood. Fairness and integrity provide its ethical support; fulfilled commitments demonstrate it every day.
Sources
NobelPrize.org: Elinor Ostrom’s research and award; interview with the 2009 laureates. Checked on 13 September 2026. The garden example and practical takeaway were prepared by the editorial team.