Abstract
ABSTRACT We study the role of the state in small drinking water system governance in New Mexico, USA. Using interviews and demographic data, we develop a grounded theory of the political economy of public accountability in decentralized water governance. We find that the state decentralizes water governance by enforcing public accountability requirements in poor, non-white communities that do not meet its standards for drinking water provisioning. By doing so, it relieves itself of the burden of safe drinking water provisioning. We challenge the assumption that state authority is abated through decentralization and contribute to understandings of inequality in water governance.
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