Discourse inertia and the governance of transboundary rivers in Asia
Changes in political, social and environmental arenas increase challenges for complex policy processes. However, areas of public policy are dominated by anachronistic instruments. These are potentially unsuitable and unsustainable due to their failure to account for geopolitics or entertain alternat...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2020-03-01
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| Series: | Earth System Governance |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589811619300400 |
| _version_ | 1818301477345558528 |
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| author | Jessica M. Williams |
| author_facet | Jessica M. Williams |
| author_sort | Jessica M. Williams |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Changes in political, social and environmental arenas increase challenges for complex policy processes. However, areas of public policy are dominated by anachronistic instruments. These are potentially unsuitable and unsustainable due to their failure to account for geopolitics or entertain alternative, potentially more appropriate, policies and approaches. This can become evident in a certain discourse or narrative continuously dominating an area of governance and decision making, even when they conflict with contemporary needs and the geopolitical contexts. This appears prevalent within water management, particularly in the transboundary context. Here, outdated paradigms dominate the agenda, despite geopolitical changes, resulting unsustainable outcomes. The concept of “discourse inertia” is developed to better understand these situations. Discourse inertia is considered and demonstrated in the context of transboundary water in the developing economies of South and Southeast Asia. This contributes to understanding how an actor group can maintain dominance and the wider implications of such situations. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-13T05:23:38Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c0179fa5226a4760bab2041f84599146 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2589-8116 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-13T05:23:38Z |
| publishDate | 2020-03-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Earth System Governance |
| spelling | doaj.art-c0179fa5226a4760bab2041f845991462022-12-21T23:58:16ZengElsevierEarth System Governance2589-81162020-03-013100041Discourse inertia and the governance of transboundary rivers in AsiaJessica M. Williams0Centre for Civil Society and Governance, Faculty of Social Science, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong SAR, ChinaChanges in political, social and environmental arenas increase challenges for complex policy processes. However, areas of public policy are dominated by anachronistic instruments. These are potentially unsuitable and unsustainable due to their failure to account for geopolitics or entertain alternative, potentially more appropriate, policies and approaches. This can become evident in a certain discourse or narrative continuously dominating an area of governance and decision making, even when they conflict with contemporary needs and the geopolitical contexts. This appears prevalent within water management, particularly in the transboundary context. Here, outdated paradigms dominate the agenda, despite geopolitical changes, resulting unsustainable outcomes. The concept of “discourse inertia” is developed to better understand these situations. Discourse inertia is considered and demonstrated in the context of transboundary water in the developing economies of South and Southeast Asia. This contributes to understanding how an actor group can maintain dominance and the wider implications of such situations.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589811619300400Transboundary riversDiscourseAsiaGovernance |
| spellingShingle | Jessica M. Williams Discourse inertia and the governance of transboundary rivers in Asia Earth System Governance Transboundary rivers Discourse Asia Governance |
| title | Discourse inertia and the governance of transboundary rivers in Asia |
| title_full | Discourse inertia and the governance of transboundary rivers in Asia |
| title_fullStr | Discourse inertia and the governance of transboundary rivers in Asia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Discourse inertia and the governance of transboundary rivers in Asia |
| title_short | Discourse inertia and the governance of transboundary rivers in Asia |
| title_sort | discourse inertia and the governance of transboundary rivers in asia |
| topic | Transboundary rivers Discourse Asia Governance |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589811619300400 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT jessicamwilliams discourseinertiaandthegovernanceoftransboundaryriversinasia |