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False Promises: The contours, contexts, and contestation of good water governance in Lao PDR and Alberta, Canada

Matthews, Nate; Schmidt, Jeremy J.

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Authors

Nate Matthews



Abstract

‘Good water governance’ in Lao PDR and Alberta, Canada emerged in different political contexts of, respectively, communism and democracy. Yet both espouse similar principles of participation, transparency and accountability. Drawing on multiple methods, this paper examines how contests over governance affect the adoption of, and mechanisms for, ‘good water governance.’ It gives particular emphasis to how both scale and context infuence, and at times curtail, the promises of good water governance. In both Lao PDR and Alberta, we examine how governance mechanisms have been wielded by what we call closed communities. These communities are part of the dark side of water governance. They espouse good governance principles yet retain political power apart from them. We suggest good water governance is far from guaranteed by particular political systems, new institutions or even legislation.

Citation

Matthews, N., & Schmidt, J. J. (2014). False Promises: The contours, contexts, and contestation of good water governance in Lao PDR and Alberta, Canada. Water governance, 2(2), 21-40. https://doi.org/10.7564/14-ijwg61

Journal Article Type Article
Online Publication Date Mar 1, 2014
Publication Date Mar 1, 2014
Deposit Date Jan 9, 2017
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal International journal of water governance
Print ISSN 2211-0224
Electronic ISSN 2211-0232
Publisher Baltzer Science Publishers
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 2
Issue 2
Pages 21-40
DOI https://doi.org/10.7564/14-ijwg61
Related Public URLs https://anthroposcene.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/matthews-schmidt-lao-pdr-alberta-2014.pdf

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