Transboundary water diplomacy among small states: a giant dilemma for Central American regionalism

Koff, Harlan; Maganda, Carmen; Kauffer, Edith

doi:10.1080/02508060.2020.1734758

Cited by 14 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…This article finds that cultural context, agency, and capacity are vital components in the ability of ASIDS to adhere to their normative commitments to democratic governance. In their study of small state implementation of water norms in Central America, Koff et al (2020) illustrated how small states formally supported integrated regional norms but undermined them in practice. This article similarly illustrates how ASIDS formally support the Banjul Charter but undermine normative coherence for development domestically.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The African Small Island Developing States and normative coherence for sustainable development: The quality of civil rights and liberties

Graham

2022

Development Policy Review

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Summary Motivation The literature on small states suggests that small island states are more likely than larger states to support regional and international democratic norms, but is this true of the six African Small Island Developing States (ASIDS), an underexplored regional grouping? This article explores the ASIDS' normative commitment to regional democratic norms of civil rights and liberties. Purpose This article aims to answer the question: how normatively coherent are ASIDS with the normative development of regional civil rights and liberty norms promoted by the African Union (AU) through the Banjul Charter? Methods and approach The article adopts a normative conceptual lens in its outlook and uses quality of democracy methodology to compare the quality of selected regional civil rights and liberty norms across the ASIDS grouping. Findings The article finds that procedurally all ASIDS are coherent with the Banjul Charter norms on civil rights and liberties, but that local realities mean that substantive coherence to these norms is often slow or, in some cases, ineffectual. Cultural context, agency, and capacity are as important as size and “islandness” in determining small island state democratic quality. Policy implications It suggests that political will for normative coherence for sustainable development (NCSD) within a region is not enough, at least for these island states. A real lack of capacity warrants greater regional support from continental Africa in the form of, among other things, financing, capacity building, expertise, peer review, and monitoring. Only through reinforcement of NCSD can the AU fulfil its rights‐based mission.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The African Small Island Developing States and normative coherence for sustainable development: The quality of civil rights and liberties

Graham

2022

Development Policy Review

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“…This occurs because norms are vaguely defined and not forcefully integrated into policy frameworks, which permits actors to reshape norms according to their incentive structures (Vivekanandan, 2021). Koff, Maganda, and Kauffer (2020) show how regional norms in Central America are undermined by member states which formally support them but use “non‐decisions” as a way to avoid implementation and maintain status quo. These studies highlight the interaction between the relevance of norms and the agents of norms in PCD discussions (see Figure 1).…”

Section: From Policy Coherence For (Sustainable) Development To Norma...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Normative coherence for development: What relevance for responsive regionalism?

Koff

Häbel²

2022

Development Policy Review

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Summary Motivation The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) call for transformative development rooted in international norms, such as human rights, rule of law, and gender equality. Often, however, nation‐states do not implement these norms to the extent to which they are envisaged. Against this backdrop, regions have the potential to fill this implementation vacuum. Purpose Without a normative dimension, transformative development risks reproducing traditional economic development. In this special issue we focus on norm implementation in different world regions through the lens of normative coherence for development. Methods and approach The articles in this special issue all use qualitative methods, such as text analysis and in‐depth interviews. Given the different regional contexts, each article has its own approach to normative coherence for development depending on the regional normative framework. Findings This special issue indicates that regions are an important interlocutor between the global, national, and sub‐national level and, as such, are crucial for implementing the sustainable development agenda. The articles show, however, that to date normative coherence for development has not been achieved due to overriding priorities and technical approaches to policy coherence for development. Policy implications With this special issue we aim to draw more attention to the topic of normative coherence for development and show that policies need to be adjusted in order to reflect the normative dimension of sustainable development.

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“…Since multiple factors contribute to the water security crisis [47][48][49][50][51][52], such as rainfall variability, floods, and population water demand [11], it must be quantified in a manner to seek the economic benefit at the basin level, rather than using the water as a hegemony and influence medium. The early agreement on recognizing the changing climate and flow regimes and curb the ever-increasing flood frequencies may change the power dynamics altogether.…”

Section: Water and Transboundary Cooperation Uncertaintiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Flood Risk Management with Transboundary Conflict and Cooperation Dynamics in the Kabul River Basin

Taraky

Liu

McBean

et al. 2021

Water

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The Kabul River, while having its origin in Afghanistan, has a primary tributary, the Konar River, which originates in Pakistan and enters Afghanistan near Barikot-Arandu. The Kabul River then re-enters Pakistan near Laalpur, Afghanistan making it a true transboundary river. The catastrophic flood events due to major snowmelt events in the Hindu Kush mountains occur every other year, inundating many major urban centers. This study investigates the flood risk under 30 climate and dam management scenarios to assess opportunities for transboundary water management strategy in the Kabul River Basin (KRB). The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) is a watershed-scale hydraulic modeling tool that was employed to forecast peak flows to characterize flood inundation areas using the river flood routing modelling tool Hydrologic Engineering Center - River Analysis System -HEC-RAS for the Nowshera region. This study shows how integrated transboundary water management in the KRB can play a vital catalyst role with significant socio-economic benefits for both nations. The study proposes a KRB-specific agreement, where flood risk management is a significant driver that can bring both countries to work together under the Equitable Water Resource Utilization Doctrine to save lives in both Afghanistan and Pakistan. The findings show that flood mitigation relying on collaborative efforts for both upstream and downstream riparian states is highly desirable.

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Transboundary water diplomacy among small states: a giant dilemma for Central American regionalism

Cited by 14 publications

References 36 publications

The African Small Island Developing States and normative coherence for sustainable development: The quality of civil rights and liberties

The African Small Island Developing States and normative coherence for sustainable development: The quality of civil rights and liberties

Normative coherence for development: What relevance for responsive regionalism?

Flood Risk Management with Transboundary Conflict and Cooperation Dynamics in the Kabul River Basin

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