Abstract (may include machine translation)
The early form of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) emerged in the USA in the 1900s in order to manage interactions between water, land, eco- and social systems. By the end of the last century, IWRM has become a globally prominent policy concept. We concern ourselves with three questions, namely, a) “why did IWRM become a globally popular concept”?; b) “how did IWRM become a globally popular concept”?; and c) “what are the effects of IWRM being a globally popular concept”? We argue that this popularity can be explained in term of a neo-Gramscian concept of hegemony and the three-dimensional model of power. The hegemony of IWRM relies on: a) providing material incentives to engage with IWRM; b) directing normative persuasion in order to create and diffuse the norms; and c) building up organizational hierarchies to support IWRM planning. Using water management in Kazakhstan as a case study, we demonstrate some of the risks associated with an uncritical embrace of IWRM which may stem from its global hegemony.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | River Basin Management in the Twenty-First Century |
Subtitle of host publication | Understanding People and Place |
Editors | Victor Roy Squires, Hugh Martin Milner, Katherine Anne Daniell |
Publisher | CRC Press |
Pages | 3-21 |
Number of pages | 19 |
ISBN (Electronic) | 9781466579637 |
ISBN (Print) | 9781466579620 |
State | Published - 1 Jan 2014 |
Keywords
- Fragmentation
- Global water initiatives
- Holistic management
- IWRM
- Kazakhstan
- Neo-gramscian
- Neoliberalism
- Technocratic elites
- Transnational actors
- USA