Adaptability of International River Basin Regimes: Linkage Problems in the Rhine

Abstract

The literature addressing international river basin regimes has largely focused on either local institutional arrangements or international institutional arrangements. The focus has been primarily on the linkages between the national layer and the international layer but not between local and international layer. This is consistent with the dominant international relations theories that focus on inter-state relations. Consequently, there is almost no systematic study of how actors at the local layer link to international layer and vice versa. In the Rhine River Basins, both practitioners and scholars have assessed the crucial role of local actors and industries in governance of international river basin regime. However, these assessments fall short of addressing how local actors are crucial and how they are linked to the international layer. This paper investigates how institutional drivers at the local layers link to the international layer and how the linkages characterize vulnerability and adaptability of international river basin regimes.