Governance and geopolitics as drivers of change in the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence basin

Abstract

This article provides an overview of governance and geopolitics as drivers of change in the Great Lakes–St Lawrence basin. It separates regional conditions into two themes, water quantity and water quality, and tracing historical trends since 1963. This study of the history of Great Lakes region governance and geopolitics reveals recurrent themes that impact the sustainability of the resource: institutional fragmentation, the changing relationship between federal and sub-national levels of government in Canada and the US, governance capacity, and the impact of geopolitics on governance. These themes are explored to imagine the future under three potential scenarios: a utopian scenario of a sustainable Great Lakes basin with robust governance in place, the status quo scenario of business as usual and, a dystopian scenario of poor governance that contributes to potential ecological disaster.