The flow of transboundary crisis reform: How the Western European Floods affected the transnational cooperation on water management in Western Europe

This paper researches the transboundary cooperation between the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany following floods that occurred throughout Western Europe in 2021. Using crisis reform theory, the question is asked as to how transboundary cooperation changed in particular. Different scholarly theories proposed by crisis scholars provide a framework to be tested upon empirical data. This empirical data consists of interviews with experts who were involved in the aftermath of the crisis together with documents that show what reforms took place. Using process tracing as a method this paper searched for causal mechanisms to explain what changed, what led to that change and how that particular change came to be. The paper concludes showing the outcome of transnational cooperation and collaboration in the creation of two new organisations. JCAR-ATRACE and Marhetak. These organisations offer new ways of operating and thinking about problems which can improve transnational regional...Show moreThis paper researches the transboundary cooperation between the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany following floods that occurred throughout Western Europe in 2021. Using crisis reform theory, the question is asked as to how transboundary cooperation changed in particular. Different scholarly theories proposed by crisis scholars provide a framework to be tested upon empirical data. This empirical data consists of interviews with experts who were involved in the aftermath of the crisis together with documents that show what reforms took place. Using process tracing as a method this paper searched for causal mechanisms to explain what changed, what led to that change and how that particular change came to be. The paper concludes showing the outcome of transnational cooperation and collaboration in the creation of two new organisations. JCAR-ATRACE and Marhetak. These organisations offer new ways of operating and thinking about problems which can improve transnational regional cooperation on flood management. In the conclusion the trustworthiness is also discussed, stating that the paper takes an approach that could prove beneficial for further research. The gap that this paper attempts to fill is still wide enough for other researchers to jump in by taking lessons from this paper to make sure further valuable contributions can be made on the subject.Show less

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The flow of transboundary crisis reform: How the Western European Floods affected the transnational cooperation on water management in Western Europe