Governance theory and planning theory share a tendency to either overlook the role of conflicts in coordination processes or view them as a disruptive force that must be modified or neutralized. In effect, there is little research into the productive role of conflicts in constructing and reconstructing the institutional conditions that make coordination possible. The productive role of conflicts is particularly visible in times of radical change that calls for a recasting of the sedimented world views and practices of the involved actors, as well as the relationship between them. A case study of the formation of new pluricentric regional governance arenas in Denmark provides important insights into how conflicts contribute to a gradual recasting of the institutional conditions that make coordination possible.