Negotiating Water Governance

’Tackling a critical problem facing society, water governance, the authors of this volume unsettle a concept long fitted uncritically into the analytical toolbox of geographers - scale. By questioning how scale is defined, redefined, and even performed using detailed cases from four continents, this book helps readers to fundamentally re-think how scale is produced to affect the governance of water. Their challenge to reconsider scale in water governance also encourages us to re-think how other, interconnected environmental governance challenges might be addressed.’ Maureen G. Reed, University of Saskatchewan, Canada ’There has been a lot of talk about how physical matter and socio-political organization interrelate. Rare are the studies that actually show the dynamic interlacing of socio-political and hydro-physical scales. This is one of them and therefore indispensable reading for those concerned with questions of how water, social power and political space shape hydro-social landscapes.’ Erik Swyngedouw, Manchester University, UK ’Cutting through debates over the politics of scale and water governance with remarkable skill, this outstanding set of essays demonstrates the conceptual sophistication of research on the politics of water while simultaneously presenting an innovative framework for rethinking scalar processes. With outstanding contributors and a wide-ranging geographical focus, this is a genuinely exciting collection.’ Alex Loftus, King’s College London, UK ’Water touches everything, materially and politically: lives, societies, and ecosystems require it; agriculture, industry, and energy production demand it; and water flows across boundaries are leading sources of conflict and cooperation. Understanding its governance is therefore vital. In this volume, leading researchers demonstrate, empirically and theoretically, that the politics of scale lie at the heart of water governance and indeed all environmental governance.’ James Mc