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Paper short abstract:

This study examines the global common good approach to water through the lens of Global Hydro-Hubs (GHHs). The study discusses whether or how GHHs transform the conception of water, the governance structures that will be built around this specific framing of water, and the scale of its governance.

Paper long abstract:

In this study, we examine the redefinition and promotion of water as a ‘global common good’ through the lens of Global Hydro-Hubs (GHHs) (Bilgen & Mukhtarov, 2024). We define GHHs as nations and cities that brand themselves, and are also branded by others, as the centres of excellence in water engineering, management, and governance and, by implication, as a natural choice for future clients to turn to with water-related problems. We argue that GHHs offer a productive lens for conceptual exploration of the current global water governance scene because GHHs themselves (1) draw on a combination of developmentalist and neoliberal logics that commodify and financialise water, (2) cut across through their operations multiple levels of water governance – global, regional, and local, (3) showcase the characteristics of a unique form of policy mobility – a kind that would facilitate the deployment of a globalised understanding of water, and (4) embody a promise of sustainable development and better water management without necessarily placing at its centre water justice and water struggles of local communities. We examine whether or how GHHs facilitate or hinder the transformation of the very understanding of water, the techno-economic governance structures that are likely to be built around this specific framing of water, and the scale of its governance. Finally, we discuss the implications of the disproportionate concentration of political and techno-economic power into the hands of a few influential actors in the global water sector on the future of water governance and water justice.