A new enemy at the gate: Tackling Iran’s water super-crisis by way of a transition from government to governance

Masoud Yazdanpanah, Michael Thompson, Dariush Hayati and Gholam Hosein Zamani
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Masoud Yazdanpanah: Department of Agricultural Extension and Education College of Agriculture, Ramin University, Ahvaz, Iran Risk, Policy and Vulnerability, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), Schlossplatz 1, Laxenburg, Austria
Michael Thompson: Risk, Policy and Vulnerability International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) Schlossplatz 1, A-2361 Laxenburg, Austria
Dariush Hayati: Department of Agricultural Extension and Education College of Agriculture, Shiraz University, Iran
Gholam Hosein Zamani: Department of Agricultural Extension and Education College of Agriculture, Shiraz University, Iran

Progress in Development Studies, 2013, vol. 13, issue 3, 177-194

Abstract: Iran faces a water crisis so severe that much of its land has ceased to be productive. Since Iran has coped with water shortages for thousands of years, it would seem that something has been lost in the abandonment, over the past half-century or so, of traditional practices in favour of modern ones. A comparison of the socio-technical systems inherent in the traditional practices with those that accompany the modern ones reveals a striking loss of institutional plurality. It also suggests the remedy: a switch away from ‘government’ (in which state actors prescribe and firms, farms and households comply) to ‘governance’ (in which state actors are in two-way and constructive engagement with actors from both the market and civil society).

Keywords: Water management; traditional paradigm; modern paradigm; plural rationality; clumsy solutions; governance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:prodev:v:13:y:2013:i:3:p:177-194

DOI: 10.1177/1464993413486544

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