Governance in the water-energy-food nexus: Gaps and future research needs

The paper argues that while the water-energy-food nexus approach is popular for identifying resource interdependencies, its treatment of governance is superficial and overly technical. By reviewing the literature through risk, economic rationality, and political economy perspectives, the authors identify three primary gaps: a lack of understanding regarding the conditions for cross-sector collaboration, a neglect of multi-level governance dynamics beyond horizontal interactions, and a failure to account for the political and cognitive factors that determine policy change. The authors suggest that the nexus community must integrate insights from integrative environmental governance theory to move beyond administrative coordination and address the power relations and norms that actually drive decision-making.

• The nexus literature generally treats governance in a superficial, technical-administrative manner, focusing on the optimal allocation of resources or educating decision-makers rather than engaging with the politics, norms, and power relations that dictate how resources are actually allocated.
• The authors identify three distinct perspectives within the nexus discourse: a risk perspective focused on avoiding conflict and managing supply chain scarcity; an economic rationality perspective aimed at cost-effectiveness and resource optimization; and a political economy perspective emphasizing equitable resource allocation among actors.
• A significant gap exists in the literature regarding the specific conditions and enabling factors that allow cross-sector coordination and collaboration to occur, as simply changing organizational charts does not resolve the problem of fragmented policies.
• Nexus analysis is overly focused on 'horizontal coherence' (interactions between sectors at the same administrative level), neglecting the vertical and multi-level governance dynamics that influence decision-making.
• The literature fails to address how political ideologies, cognitive factors, and subjective perceptions of what is 'optimal' act as determinants of change, leaving the nexus approach disconnected from actual policymaking processes.

APA

Weitz, N., Strambo, C., Kemp-Benedict, E., & Nilsson, M. (2017). Governance in the water-energy-food nexus: Gaps and future research needs. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/SEI-2017-WP-Nexus-Governance-Weitz.pdf

Chicago

Weitz, Nina, Claudia Strambo, Eric Kemp-Benedict, and Måns Nilsson. Governance in the water-energy-food nexus: Gaps and future research needs. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2017. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/SEI-2017-WP-Nexus-Governance-Weitz.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Weitz |first1=Nina |last2=Strambo |first2=Claudia |last3=Kemp-Benedict |first3=Eric |last4=Nilsson |first4=Måns |title=Governance in the water-energy-food nexus: Gaps and future research needs |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=July 2017 |url=https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/SEI-2017-WP-Nexus-Governance-Weitz.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{weitz2017governance, author = {Weitz, Nina and Strambo, Claudia and Kemp-Benedict, Eric and Nilsson, Måns}, title = {{Governance in the water-energy-food nexus: Gaps and future research needs}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2017}, month = jul, url = {https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/SEI-2017-WP-Nexus-Governance-Weitz.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }