Split Waters

Through case studies and theoretical analyses, this volume brings new value to the study of water conflict. Rather than an obstacle to cooperation, conflict becomes an invitation to explore more deeply the who, why and how of water policy decisions.

David Groenfeldt, Director, Water-Culture Institute, Santa Fe, New Mexico

The book demonstrates that as society makes and remakes the hydrosocial cycle, frictions occur, slowing down or hastening the flows of power through waters. It offers an invitation to reimagine water conflicts as those innumerable and minute abrasions that occur every day, but are often not recognised as ‘water conflicts’, a term which unfortunately remains globally associated with violent, large-scale acute disputes. This book will remain a milestone for academic researchers, scholars, practitioners, and activists involved in the ongoing reconceptualisation and reinterpretations of water and water conflicts.

Kuntala Lahiri-Dutt,Professor, Resource, Environment & Development Program, Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University

This rich collection highlights conceptual and empirical issues for reconceptualisation of water conflicts, from an insightful introduction, to case studies from India to Bolivia. Moving away from notions of violence, incorporating notions of structural or slow violence, while also engaging contemporary issues such as the water–energy nexus, and conflicts related to the end of the big dam era, the authors have gifted us with a worthwhile and highly recommended contribution.

Leila M. Harris, Professor, Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability and Institute for Gender, Race, Sexuality and Social Justice, University of British Columbia

It is widely believed that people are willing to fight and die for water, and the notion of widespread water conflicts is a compelling one. By charting the social life of the idea of water conflicts, Spilt Waters powerfully urges us to re-examine simplistic notions of scarcity and environmental conflicts that can serve to legitimise certain interventions and interests, and also potentially engender more water conflicts. A must-read for scholars, activists and practitioners striving for water justice.

Lyla Mehta, Professor, Institute of Development Studies, UK and Norwegian University of Life Sciences

Split Waters is a fascinating collection of essays that shed new light on the enduring dramas of overt and covert water-based injustices and socio-territorial transformations. The authors’ critical, pluralist perspectives also illuminate how those affected by multi-dimensional water violence engage in socially and politically empowering action to construct dignified livelihoods. A must-read for students and scholars interested in the grounded understanding and cross-disciplinary theorisation of water conflicts, this book constitutes an essential reference.

Rutgerd Boelens, Professor, Water Governance & Social Justice, Wageningen University & Professor, Political Ecology of Water, CEDLA/University of Amsterdam