ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses major contours of privatization and marketization of water, drawing on histories of these governance trends in Europe and North America. First, it documents major shifts of the past several decades, often termed as an era of neoliberal water governance. One of the most interesting aspects of water governance debates has been the ways that crises are invoked to justify the need to privatize water sources, or to engage market instruments more fully. The argument is often made that private water provision will be more efficient, will produce costs savings that will make the water system more sustainable over the long term. These ideas are familiar to anyone interested in contemporary water governance. Then the chapter considers more recent privatization and marketization governance shifts, including their uneven implementation and effects across regions and locales. Finally, the chapter closes with a discussion of what an enriched understanding of these variable histories and geographies offers for water governance debates.
