Back to the future? Resurgence of the Harmon Doctrine in the shadow of diminishing cooperation across transboundary watercourses – international water law under threat?

Patricia K. Wouters and A. Dan Tarlock

Water International, 2025, vol. 50, issue 5, 463-474

Abstract: This short essay reflects on our earlier commentary in Water International where we called for a reconceptualized approach to international water law to meet the emerging hard challenges. Four years on and the seismic changes in global relations coupled with increasing hydrogeopolitical tensions have left us sceptical about universal adherence to the core tenets of international water law. We find ourselves in a rather surreal ‘back to the future’ scenario, where we have been transported back to days of the Harmon Doctrine, when claims of absolute state sovereignty justified unilateral action. Does future international water law include the duty to share the uses of shared international watercourses equitably and reasonably? We examine recent state practice which challenges conventional international water law.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1080/02508060.2025.2527488

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