MDPI - Publisher of Open Access Journals

21 pages, 296 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Constitutionalising the Right to Water in Kenya and Slovenia: Domestic Drivers, Opportunity Structures, and Transnational Norm Entrepreneurs

by Mathea Loen and Siri Gloppen

Water 2021, 13(24), 3548; https://doi.org/10.3390/w13243548 - 11 Dec 2021

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 4693

Abstract

The international norm development that in 2010 culminated with the UN Resolution on the Human Right to Water and Sanitation changed international law. To what extent did this influence the parallel legal developments evident in many national constitutions across the globe? This article analyses the mobilisation for a constitutional right to water and sanitation in Kenya and Slovenia, identifying the main national and transnational actors involved and assessing their significance for the processes of constitutionalising the right. By analysing two very different cases, tracing their constitutionalisation processes through analysis of archival material, the article provides multifaceted insights into processes of norm diffusion from international norm entrepreneurs to the national level and the agency of domestic actors and their opportunity structures. We find that although the outcomes of the processes in Kenya and Slovenia are similar in that both constitutions contain articles securing the right to water, the framing of the right differs. Furthermore, we conclude that while there is involvement of international actors in both cases, domestic pro-water activists and their normative and political opportunity structures are more important for understanding the successful constitutionalisation of the right to water and differences in the framing of the right. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Water and Sanitation as Human Rights: Have They Strengthened Marginalized Peoples’ Claim for Access?)

19 pages, 1220 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Does it Matter: Constitutionalisation, Democratic Governance, and the Human Right to Water

by Rebecca Schiel, Malcolm Langford and Bruce M. Wilson

Water 2020, 12(2), 350; https://doi.org/10.3390/w12020350 - 26 Jan 2020

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 6272

Abstract

States are urged frequently by the UN, policymakers, and activists to recognise the human right to water domestically. However, does such legal incorporation, often in national constitutions, affect water policy and the realisation of the right? While several qualitative studies report positive impacts, initial quantitative assessments have questioned the systematic positive impact of the national recognition of the human right to water. Yet, such quantitative analyses of the effects of constitutional rights to water often overlook important mediating policy factors. We test specifically whether strong democratic governance is a significant condition for ensuring that the constitutional recognition of the human right to water has concrete outcomes. Results of a multivariate regression analysis on a global sample of 123 states over a 15-year period provide two findings. First, the constitutionalisation of the right to water and other economic, social, and cultural rights (ESCRs), in national constitutions alone is not associated with material benefits related to the human right to water. Second, the constitutionalisation of those rights can have positive material benefits for water access when the rights are foregrounded in democratic governance. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Human Rights to Water and Sanitation)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

Search Results (2)

Further Information

Guidelines

MDPI Initiatives

Follow MDPI

Saved Queries

Search Filter Reset All

Years

Feature Papers

Subjects

Journals

Article Types

Countries / Regions

Search Results (2)

Further Information

Guidelines

MDPI Initiatives

Follow MDPI