Water with borders: Social goods, the market and mobilization

This dissertation explores the prospect of bulk water exports in three different countries: Canada, Bolivia and France. In Canada and Bolivia, the possibility that a trade regime might come to regulate international water relations caused legislatures to pass laws prohibiting bulk water exports. In the third case there was no governmental intervention at all on the French side, although the project was abandoned when the buyer, Spain, decided to seek other options.; The main argument of this dissertation is that, in a time of widespread economic globalization, national political actors have prevented the full incorporation of fresh water resources in the globalization process for two main reasons: Water is still tightly linked to territorial concerns about self-sufficiency; and water continues to be seen as a social good. To understand the variance between the three countries studied, the author examines water governance regimes and the dynamics that bulk water export projects generated in each country. The analysis of the empirical cases generated two hypotheses: when water's publicness is challenged: (1) Countries with a less institutionalized water governance regime react strongly against bulk water exports; whereas countries with a water governance regime highly institutionalized do not; and (2) Countries with previous mobilization on water or free trade issues react strongly against bulk water exports; whereas countries which have not witnessed significant mobilization on water or free trade issues do not.; The analysis of bulk water export projects also illuminates the reasons for the continuing absence of an international governance regime for fresh water resources. Any attempt to either commodify water resources or to create an international binding commitment on water governance has the potential to trigger sovereignty concerns, because of water's link to territory and its status as a social good. Consequently, it is extremely difficult for any international governance regime to be negotiated and implemented.