Background

Critical Hydropolitics

The Geneva Water Hub conducts research on transboundary water management, collaborates with the Universities Partnership for Water Cooperation and Diplomacy to enhance scientific knowledge and inform public discourse, and works with the UNESCO Chair on Hydropolitics to develop research projects, educational programs, and science-policy bridges in the field of water resources management.

Rooted in social science methods and theories, researchers with the Geneva Water Hub explore a range of topics related to water diplomacy, water sharing in transboundary and local settings, water justice, and the politics of water and land governance. We are particularly known for our pioneering work on water conflict transformation, for critical discourse analysis of hydropolitics, for critical perspectives on water infrastructure, and for the integration of variables such as power and politics in structuring water governance outcomes.  

Recent academic publications:  

2023

  • Zeitoun, M., Kayal, N., Vij, S., Türk, D., & Cullman, J. (2023). Why negotiate water problems when we can deliberate water solutions? Nature Water, 1(4), 306-307. [↓]

  • Haemmerli, H., Bréthaut, C., & Ezbakhe, F. (2023). Exploring friendship in hydropolitics: The case of the friendship dam on the Asi/Orontes River. Environmental Policy and Governance. [↓]

  • Turley, L. (2023). Securing urban water supply through reservoir reoperation–An analysis of power resources and equity in cases from India, Spain and the USA. PLOS Water, 2(8), e0000097. [↓]

  • Zeitoun, M. (2023). Reflections: Understanding Our Use and Abuse of Water. Oxford University Press. [↓]

2022

  • Bréthaut, C., Ezbakhe, F., McCracken, M., Wolf, A., & Dalton, J. (2022). Exploring discursive hydropolitics: A conceptual framework and research agenda. International Journal of Water Resources Development, 38(3), 464-479. [↓]

  • Turley, L., Bréthaut, C., & Pflieger, G. (2022). Institutions for reoperating reservoirs in semi-arid regions facing climate change and competing societal water demands: insights from Colorado. Water International, 47(1), 30-54. [↓]

2020

  • Zeitoun, M., Mirumachi, N., Warner, J., Kirkegaard, M., & Cascão, A. (2020). Analysis for water conflict transformation. Water International, 45(4), 365-384. [↓]

2019

  • Zeitoun, M., Abdallah, C., Dajani, M., Khresat, S. E., Elaydi, H., & Alfarra, A. (2019). The Yarmouk tributary to the Jordan River I: Agreements impeding equitable transboundary water arrangements. Water Alternatives, 12(3), 1064-1094. [↓]

  • Zeitoun, M., Dajani, M., Abdallah, C., Khresat, S. E., & Elaydi, H. (2019). The Yarmouk tributary to the Jordan River II: Infrastructure impeding the transformation of equitable transboundary water arrangements. Water Alternatives, 12(3), 1095-1122. [↓]

Geneva Water ful
Transboundary water management – policy tools from around the world
The Geneva Water Hub, in collaboration with the Canton of Geneva's Water Office, studied the Greater Geneva region as a 'living lab' to explore the practical challenges and opportunities of transboundary water management between Switzerland and France.-
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Universities Partnership for Water Cooperation and Diplomacy
Universities Partnership for Water Cooperation and Diplomacy
The Universities Partnership for Water Cooperation and Diplomacy (UPWCD) is a platform that brings together research and teaching competences from various institutions to enhance scientific knowledge, contribute to public discourse, and introduce rigorous science into water cooperation and diplomacy dialogues and processes. -
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UNESCO
UNESCO Chair on Hydropolitics
The University of Geneva's Institute for Environmental Sciences has hosted the UNESCO Chair on Hydropolitics since 2015, collaborating closely with the Geneva Water Hub to develop research projects, create educational programs, and build bridges between science and policy. -
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