Redefining the hydro-social contract in Saudi Arabia: between vision and structural inertia
This article analyzes the evolution of Saudi Arabia’s hydro-social contract amid climate change and energy transition. Based on extensive literature, long-term empirical research, and a framework combining social contract theory and hydrological insights, it argues that recent water governance refor...
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| Autore principale: | |
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| Natura: | Article (Journal) |
| Lingua: | inglese |
| Pubblicazione: |
28 May 2026
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| In: |
Society and natural resources
Year: 2026, Pages: 1-20 |
| ISSN: | 1521-0723 |
| DOI: | 10.1080/08941920.2026.2677128 |
| Accesso online: | Resolving-System, lizenzpflichtig, Volltext: https://doi.org/10.1080/08941920.2026.2677128 Verlag, lizenzpflichtig, Volltext: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08941920.2026.2677128 
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| Note sull'autore: | Tobias Zumbraegel |
| Riassunto: | This article analyzes the evolution of Saudi Arabia’s hydro-social contract amid climate change and energy transition. Based on extensive literature, long-term empirical research, and a framework combining social contract theory and hydrological insights, it argues that recent water governance reforms are largely technological and elite-driven forming a hydro-social coalition of public institutions, private corporations, and elite research bodies. The Saudi state continues to favor supply-side solutions, especially energy-intensive desalination, while paying limited attention to demand-side challenges and ecological constraints. This reinforces existing power structures, deepens exclusion, and worsens environmental degradation. Water governance in the country thus reflects a broader techno-authoritarian model rooted in infrastructural control rather than systemic transformation. The article shows how state authority, socio-economic privilege, and environmental constraints shape current dynamics. Without confronting these structural conditions, especially under decarbonization pressures, Saudi Arabia’s water governance will remain unsustainable and inequitable. |
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| Descrizione del documento: | Gesehen am 14.08.2026 |
| Descrizione fisica: | Online Resource |
| ISSN: | 1521-0723 |
| DOI: | 10.1080/08941920.2026.2677128 |