A Slippery Slope: State Approaches to Water Management and Development Policies
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2013
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Haverford College. Department of Political Science
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Thesis
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The Herman M. Somers Prize in Political Science
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eng
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Haverford users only
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Abstract
A river knows no boundaries. The world’s rivers and water basins do not fall in line with states’ borders and often border multiple states. There are approximately 261 international river basins covering 46% of the Earth’s land area and nearly 40% of the world’s population lives in river basins shared by more than two countries. However, the world’s water resources are vulnerable now more than ever to major shifts caused by human activity and natural processes. Climate change, pollution and population growth contribute to a depletion of water resources. As water becomes a scarce resource, states try to ensure they have access to an adequate supply but one state’s use of shared waters affects the quality and quantity of a river’s flow. Such actions can have an adverse effect on other states. Consequently, when one state perceives another state to be exploiting, threatening or degrading shared water resources, states can find themselves in disputes. The expansive literature on hydropolitics focuses largely on issues of water conflict and cooperation but understanding hydropolitics extends beyond simple conflict or cooperation. The goal of this thesis will be to develop a framework for understanding why states located at different points along the same river approach their water management and development policies differently. The various explanations for differences in states’ water policies examined in this study include: physical geography, relative power, economic interdependence, domestic politics, historical regional relations and water security. Studying the nuances of water policy‐making will allow us to see what values states prioritize, will equip us with the tools to predict future interactions in river basins and may even allow us to propose feasible policy recommendations.