Governing Water ─ Contentious Transnational Politics And Global Institution Building

Water is a key component of critical ecosystems, a marketable commodity, a foundationof local communities and cultures, and a powerful means of social control. It has become a source ofcontentious politics and social controversy on a global scale, and the management of water conflictsis one of the biggest challenges in the effort to achieve effective global environmentalgovernance.In Governing Water, Ken Conca examines political struggles to create a global frameworkfor the governance of water. Threats to the world's rivers, watersheds, and critical freshwaterecosystems have resisted the establishment of effective global agreements through intergovernmentalbargaining because the conditions for successful interstate cooperation -- effective stateauthority, stable knowledge frameworks, and a territorialized understanding of nature -- cannot beimposed upon water controversies. But while interstate water diplomacy has faltered, less formalizedinstitutions -- socially and politically embedded rules, roles, and practices -- have emerged tohelp shape water governance locally and globally.Conca examines the politics of these institutions,presenting a framework for understanding global environmental governance based on key institutionalpresumptions about territoriality, authority, and knowledge. He maps four distinct processes ofinstitution building: formal international regimes for shared rivers; international networking amongwater experts and professionals; social movements opposing the construction of large dams; and thestruggle surrounding transnational water "marketization." These cases illustrate the potential foralternative institutional forms in situations where traditional interstate regimes areineffective.

Ken Conca is Associate Professor of Government and Politics and Director of the Harrison Program on the Future Global Agenda at the University of Maryland.