Mixing waters: stakeholder influence in transboundary water conflict and cooperation

Understanding the factors that contribute to transboundary water conflict and cooperation is critical to improve governance and protect water resources. State interactions are shaped by multiple pressures and multi-scalar actors. This research assesses how local stakeholders influence the state through an analysis of power, water quality-related vulnerability and risk. Based on the findings, local stakeholders directly and indirectly support high-intensity cooperation over transboundary lakes and can foster low-intensity conflict to enable a greater representation of needs. Local actors also mutually influence state and international processes causing a multi-scalar impact and response to the states’ transboundary water quality interactions.