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Why water diplomacy? What does diplomacy have to do with water? Is cooperation over transboundary surface and ground waters the exclusive domain of diplomats and foreign policy experts? Or mainly the purview of water professionals negotiating agreements on shared water resources? Why should non-governmental stakeholders be involved in transboundary water dialogues? These questions lie at the heart of debates and dialogues around the theory and practice of water diplomacy.
The main aim of this Special Issue is to elaborate the intersect of science, policy, and practice and discuss ways knowledge can be distributed more equally and bridged across these spheres. In this editorial article, we summarize key messages on water diplomacy brought forward by authors in this Special Issue. We have identified the trends below as a possible future direction on water diplomacy research as well as issues that need to be addressed in the policy debate. One of the overarching themes is how to ensure that available technical knowledge informs the political tracks of water diplomacy and how to build trust effectively to ensure sustainability of water cooperation processes.
