Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: Why do states increasingly embed water treaties in regional trade agreements (RTAs), despite a long history of water cooperation through other kinds of international institutions? I address this question in several ways: (1) I argue that the number, size, and geographic extent of basins as well as linkages among trade, environment and security issues in them has made basin management complicated and prompted states to include basin management obligations and organizational structure in RTA treaty frameworks, (2) I illustrate how states use RTA obligations and structure to manage international river basins, and (3) I discuss several challenges in evaluating the causes of RTA basin management. Hypothesis testing is not the goal of this paper. I put forth an argument about the complexity involved in assessing why states increasingly choose water cooperation through trade institutions. I consider practical issues that can lead to flawed research design choices in further studies. These challenges include a) number of RTA legal documents b) multi-issue treaties and multi-layered treaties, c) basin management through RTA treaties versus RTA policies, and d) dyad versus basin level analyses.