@article{fdi:010090801,
  title = {{W}ater and the politics of quantification : a programmatic review},
  author = {{M}olle, {F}ran{\c{c}}ois and {L}ankford, {B}. and {L}ave, {R}.},
  editor = {},
  language = {{ENG}},
  abstract = {{Q}uantification of states, corporations, nature or self has become pervasive in the past 40 years. {T}he water world's struggles are rife with, and shaped by, numbers, indicators, metrics and models. {T}his review explores how the production, promotion and use of 'water numbers' conceals deeply political processes, hypotheses, worldviews, intents, old habits and new fashions. {W}hether embodied in scientific or expert practices, or in indicators, thresholds, water accounts or cost-benefit analyses, water numbers promote specific values and interests; they also obfuscate complexity, heterogeneities and uncertainties, they manufacture legitimacy and authority, and they act as control devices to shape behaviour {W}e offer a more detailed analysis of water indicators that describe water scarcity, ecological status, progress towards {SDG} 6, and embody {N}ew {P}ublic {M}anagement principles. {W}e end with a call for critical water studies to more forcefully engage with these debates, in line with the centrality of quantification in water management and policy.},
  keywords = {{S}ociology of quantification ; indicators ; legitimacy ; reductionism ; ontologies ; {NPM} ; science-policy interface ; commensuration ; modelling ; numbers ; {MONDE}},
  booktitle = {},
  journal = {{W}ater {A}lternatives},
  volume = {17},
  numero = {2},
  pages = {325--347},
  ISSN = {1965-0175},
  year = {2024},
  URL = {https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010090801},
}