Water diplomacy: A man's world? Insights from the Nile, Rhine and Chu-Talas basins

Jenniver Sehring*, Rozemarijn ter Horst, Alexandra Said

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

4 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Based on Feminist Institutionalism, this paper analyses the reasons for gender disbalance in water diplomacy. To this end, it looks at three intergovernmental decision-making forums on shared waters, namely the Nile Technical Advisory Committee, the Chu-Talas Water Commission, and the International Commission for the Protection of the Rhine. The perceived key obstacles for women's access to decision-making positions were disciplinary gender divides that go along with a largely technical approach to water management, the gender division of labour, cultural norms, and perceptions of good leadership. While their relevance differed in the different socio-economic, political and cultural contexts, the overall results show that male dominance in water diplomacy is not only a matter of numerical representation, but enshrined in professional norms and practices.

Original languageEnglish
Article number100152
JournalJournal of Hydrology X
Volume20
Early online date24 Mar 2023
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Aug 2023

Keywords

  • Feminist institutionalism
  • Gender
  • Transboundary waters
  • Water conflict
  • Water cooperation
  • Water diplomacy

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