Abstract

Interstate water disputes are difficult to resolve because water crosses legal jurisdictions, state boundaries, and stakeholder interests. Federalist systems are designed to have institutional channels for conflict resolution, but water disputes have proven to be an inimitable challenge. This study uses horizontal and vertical analyses of federalism to examine watershed governance in the United States, Mexico, India, and South Africa. The study exposes the successes and failures of federalist experiments in watershed management; in the interest of improving interstate water dispute resolution.