Comparative studies of water governance: a systematic review

Governance is key to tackle water challenges and transform water management under the increasing pressures of competing water uses and climate change. Diverse water governance regimes have evolved in different countries and regions to regulate the development and management of water resources and the provision of water services. Scholars and policy analysts have been comparing these water governance regimes to analyze elements and processes, to assess performance, or to draw lessons. While the number of such studies has increased over the past decades, no comprehensive synthesis exists. This paper aims to present such a synthesis through conducting a systematic review of the emerging field of comparative water governance studies, and critically reflecting on how water governance is defined, conceptualized and assessed in different contexts. Based on the insights that this review brings about, we identify four areas for future research: 1) improving the balance between small-N, medium-N and large-N studies that are applied for comparative studies on water governance, 2) conducting longitudinal comparisons of water governance in order to identify temporal governance trends and patterns 3) expanding the geographical coverage of the comparisons to include underrepresented countries and regions, focusing more broadly on the Global South 4) addressing the issues of justice, equity and power, which are becoming increasingly important in tackling the water governance challenges that are exacerbated by the impacts of climate change, industrialization and urbanization.