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4 - De-Politicized Policy Analysis: How the Prevailing Frameworks of Analysis Slight Equity in Water Governance

from Part I - Re-Politicizing Water Allocation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 February 2018

By
Andrea K. Gerlak  and
Helen Ingram
Edited by
Rutgerd Boelens ,
Tom Perreault  and
Jeroen Vos
Rutgerd Boelens
Affiliation:
Wageningen Universiteit, The Netherlands
Tom Perreault
Affiliation:
Syracuse University, New York
Jeroen Vos
Affiliation:
Wageningen Universiteit, The Netherlands
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Summary

The interdisciplinary field of public policy, established to foster analysis to produce better policy, ought to be sensitive to differentials in the distribution of political power and access to water decision-making. Yet, as the chapter illustrates, most public policy approaches and frameworks slight issues of equity and participation in water governance. Several policy frameworks emphasize participation and collaboration, but not how dominant interests can be displaced. While some frameworks emphasize grassroots, decentralized decision making, they do not explain how minorities, and the poor who have little voice on the local level are to be represented. More discursive approaches to policy analysis do recognize equity and differences in access among different populations, but usually fall short when it comes to suggesting policy solutions that would work.
Type
Chapter
Information
Water Justice , pp. 71 - 88
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2018

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