Pascual Riesco Chueca

Policy modulated by deviance: Water law enforcement in a Mediterranean context

Abstract Water provides a societal link at the deepest sphere of interaction. It is no surprise that policy efforts are permanently challenged by barriers arising from the structure, both explicit and implicit, of our society. As a result, a wide gap opens up between what is planned and what is achieved. This paper aims to probe the Spanish water policy experience in the search for factors explaining why public goals are subject to considerable différance, a coined word (Derrida) which refers at once to the differing and the deferring of achievement. A list of indicators is provided to predict public and private deviance against water policy. Deviance is illustrated as the other side of Mediterranean solidarity. A taxonomy of deviance is attempted on the basis of examples drawn from recent developments in the Spanish water arena.