The Politics of Water Institutional Reform in Neo-Patrimonial States
The Politics of Water Institutional Reform in Neo-Patrimonial States

Author: Jenniver Sehring

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2009-01-30

Total Pages: 227

ISBN-13: 3531913778

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“There is more than enough water in the world for domestic purposes, for agriculture and for industry. (...) In short, scarcity is manufactured through political processes and institutions (...). ” (United Nations Human Development Report 2006: 3) Water scarcity, water crisis, water wars – since the beginning of the 1990s these terms have appeared again and again in scientific debates, political strategies, and media reports. Water is perceived as a scarce resource that needs efficient management in order to satisfy all needs and to prevent violent conflicts over its distribution. Considerable research has been devoted to this topic. In this research, water is commonly referred to as a common pool resource: a n- excludable public good with rivalry in terms of consumption. Hence, research has long focused on collective action problems in managing this common pool resource (e. g. Ostrom 1990, 1992). In recent years, anthropological and sociological scholars in particular have criticized that in these studies the complexity of water, its embeddedness in a wider cultural and social c- text, and the role of power have been neglected. Water is different from other natural - sources in some important aspects: its mobility, its variability, and its multiplicity (Mehta 2006: 2f; Linton 2006: [10]). Mobility makes ownership claims difficult: Water moves, transcending state borders, not fixed like other resources. Variability refers to the fact that its availability varies temporarily, depending on weather conditions.

Key Concepts in Water Resource Management
Key Concepts in Water Resource Management

Author: Jonathan Lautze

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2014-06-20

Total Pages: 137

ISBN-13: 1134656416

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The vocabulary and discourse of water resource management have expanded vastly in recent years to include an array of new concepts and terminology, such as water security, water productivity, virtual water and water governance. While the new conceptual lenses may generate insights that improve responses to the world’s water challenges, their practical use is often encumbered by ambiguity and confusion. This book applies critical scrutiny to a prominent set of new but widely used terms, in order to clarify their meanings and improve the basis on which we identify and tackle the world’s water challenges. More specifically, the book takes stock of what several of the more prominent new terms mean, reviews variation in interpretation, explores how they are measured, and discusses their respective added value. It makes many implicit differences between terms explicit and aids understanding and use of these terms by both students and professionals. At the same time, it does not ignore the legitimately contested nature of some concepts. Further, the book enables greater precision on the interpretational options for the various terms, and for the value that they add to water policy and its implementation.

The Aral Sea Basin
The Aral Sea Basin

Author: Stefanos Xenarios

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2019-09-17

Total Pages: 253

ISBN-13: 0429791070

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This book offers the first multidisciplinary overview of water resources issues and management in the Aral Sea Basin, covering both the Amu Darya and Syr Darya River Basins. The two main rivers of Amu Darya and Syr Darya and their tributaries comprise the Aral Sea Basin area and are the lifeline for about 70 million inhabitants in Central Asia. Written by regional and international experts, this book critically examines the current state, trends and future of water resources management and development in this major part of the Central Asia region. It brings together insights on the history of water management in the region, surface and groundwater assessment, issues of transboundary water management and environmental degradation and restoration, and an overview of the importance of water for the key economic sectors and overall socio-economic development of Central Asian countries, as well as of hydro politics in the region. The book also focusses on the future of water sector development in the Basin, including a review of local and international actors, as well as an analysis of the current status and progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals by Basin countries. The book will be essential reading for those interested in sea basin management, environmental policy in Central Asia and water resource management more widely. It will also act as a reference source for decision-makers in state agencies, as well as a background source of information for NGOs. Chapter 8 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.

The Persistence of Technology
The Persistence of Technology

Author: Stefan Krebs

Publisher: transcript Verlag

Published: 2021-09-30

Total Pages: 293

ISBN-13: 3839447410

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Repair, reuse and disposal are closely interlinked phenomena related to the service lives and persistence of technologies. When technical artefacts become old and worn out, decisions have to be taken: is it necessary, worthwhile or even possible to maintain and repair, reuse or dismantle them - or must they be discarded? These decisions depend on factors such as the availability of second-hand markets, repair infrastructures and dismantling or disposal facilities. In telling the stories of China's power grid, Canadian telephones, German automobiles and India's shipbreaking business, among others, the contributions in this volume highlight the persistence of technologies and show that maintenance and repair are not obsolete in modern industries and consumer societies.

Presidents, Oligarchs and Bureaucrats
Presidents, Oligarchs and Bureaucrats

Author: Margarete Klein

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2016-04-08

Total Pages: 277

ISBN-13: 1317076095

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Over the last decade the "transition paradigm", which is based on the conviction that authoritarian political systems would over time necessarily develop into democracies, has been subjected to serious criticism. The complex political and societal developments in the post-Soviet region in particular have exposed flaws in the claim that a shift from authoritarianism to democracy is inevitable. Using case studies from the post-Soviet region, a broad range of international contributors present an original and innovative contribution to the debate. They explore the character of post-Soviet regimes and review the political transformations they have experienced since the end of the Cold War. Through a combination of theoretical approaches and detailed, empirical analysis the authors highlight the difficulties and benefits of applying the concepts of hybrid regimes, competitive authoritarianism and neopatrimonialism to the countries of the post-Soviet space. Through this in-depth approach the authors demonstrate how "Presidents, Oligarchs and Bureaucrats" in the region lead their countries, examine the sources of their legitimacy and their relationship to the societies they govern and advance the general theoretical debate on regime change and transition paths.

Presidents, Oligarchs and Bureaucrats
Presidents, Oligarchs and Bureaucrats

Author: Susan Stewart

Publisher: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 277

ISBN-13: 1409412512

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"Over the last decade the 'transition paradigm', which is based on the conviction that authoritarian political systems would over time necessarily develop into democracies, has been subjected to serious criticism. The complex political and societal developments in the post-Soviet region in particular have exposed flaws in the claim that a shift from authoritarianism to democracy is inevitable. Using case studies from the post-Soviet region, a broad range of international contributors present an original and innovative contribution to the debate. They explore the character of post-Soviet regimes and review the political transformations they have experienced since the end of the Cold War. Through a combination of theoretical approaches and detailed, empirical analysis the authors highlight the difficulties and benefits of applying the concepts of hybrid regimes, competitive authoritarianism and neopatrimonialism to the countries of the post-Soviet space. Through this in-depth approach the authors demonstrate how Presidents, Oligarchs and Bureaucrats in the region lead their countries, examine the sources of their legitimacy and their relationship to the societies they govern and advance the general theoretical debate on regime change and transition paths."--Publisher's description.

Iconic Places in Central Asia
Iconic Places in Central Asia

Author: Jeanne Féaux de la Croix

Publisher: transcript Verlag

Published: 2016-12-31

Total Pages: 353

ISBN-13: 3839436303

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Jeanne Féaux de la Croix maps three iconic places as part of Central Asians' 'moral geographies' and examines their role in navigating socialist, neo-liberal and neo-Islamic life models. Dams provide most of Kyrgyzstan's electricity, but are also at the heart of regional water disputes that threaten an already shrinking Aral Sea. Mountain pastures cover much of Central Asia's heartland and offer a livelihood and refuge, even to urban citizens. Pilgrimage sites have recovered from official Soviet oblivion and act as cherished scenes of decision-making. Examining how iconic places, work and well-being can mesh together, this book moves debates about post-Soviet memory, space and property onto fresh terrain.

Movement, Power and Place in Central Asia and Beyond
Movement, Power and Place in Central Asia and Beyond

Author: Madeleine Reeves

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2013-09-13

Total Pages: 309

ISBN-13: 1135700192

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Central Asia is a region singularly marked by attempts to transform social life by transforming place. Drawing together established scholars and a new generation of historians, geographers and anthropologists, this volume brings empirical specificity and theoretical depth to debates about the politics of place-making in this diverse region, making an important contribution to Central Asian studies and a distinctive regional comparison to the ‘spatial turn’ in social analysis. Case studies draw on archival research and oral history to explore the workings—and unintended consequences—of policies aimed at sedentarizing, collectivizing and resettling populations as a means to fix and territorialize space. The book also examines ethnographic studies attuned to the role of movement in sustaining social life, from Soviet-era trade networks that linked rural Central Asia and the Russian metropolis, to pilgrimage routes through which ‘kazakhness’ is articulated, to the contemporary moralization of migration abroad in search of work. Rather than analysing ‘flows’ as abstract processes, the book enquires about effortful activity, material infrastructures, political relations and social habits through which people, ideas, knowledge, skills and material objects move or are prevented from moving. As such, it offers new insights into the complex intersections of movement, power and place in this important region over the last two centuries. This book was originally published as a special issue of Central Asian Survey.

Coping with Global Environmental Change, Disasters and Security
Coping with Global Environmental Change, Disasters and Security

Author: Hans Günter Brauch

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2011-02-03

Total Pages: 1816

ISBN-13: 364217776X

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Coping with Global Environmental Change, Disasters and Security - Threats, Challenges, Vulnerabilities and Risks reviews conceptual debates and case studies focusing on disasters and security threats, challenges, vulnerabilities and risks in Europe, the Mediterranean and other regions. It discusses social science concepts of vulnerability and risks, global, regional and national security challenges, global warming, floods, desertification and drought as environmental security challenges, water and food security challenges and vulnerabilities, vulnerability mapping of environmental security challenges and risks, contributions of remote sensing to the recognition of security risks, mainstreaming early warning of conflicts and hazards and provides conceptual and policy conclusions.