Networks in flux – transitions of hydrosocial regimes

Abstract

Even in north-western Europe, which is privileged in terms of its aquatic environment, climate change is putting pressure on hydrosocial conditions. Actors, institutions and infrastructures in heterogeneous local water governance structures often remain invisible, especially when they are performing properly. The aim of this contribution is to highlight dynamic transitions in local river networks along the Rur and Selke rivers using qualitative network analysis methods. Our hypothesis is that in every river network micro-constellations (‘transformative networks’ or ‘regimes’) can be identified,  that have a significant impact on transitions in the river-network (either accelerating or decelerating them) (Franke 2024; 2025). Since the hot summers and dry periods between 2017 and 2023, also in Germany issues of water availability, quality and management have become urgent, as indicated by the ‘National Water Strategy’ (BMUV, 2023), numerous water strategies of the federal states and the current WBGU report ‘Water in a heated world’ (WBGU et al., 2024). While genuinely sociological research into hydro-social transitions has tended to be fragmented (Schulz and Gros, 2024), the interdisciplinary field of socio-hydrology is increasingly integrating social and hydrological factors (Nüsser et al. 2024; Pande and Sivapalan 2017). This article highlights the more natural science- and social science-influenced poles within socio-hydrology. A sociologically grounded, network-analytical and qualitative perspective then allows us to reconstruct hydrosocial compositions along the Rur and Selke rivers. While a highly institutionalised and materialised water regime has established itself on the Rur, representing the resistance to transformation of current infrastructure compositions, the "Selke-Dialog" shows how dynamics can arise in river networks. Based on the network-theoretical sociology of composition (Laux 2014), the article concludes by calling for a hydrosociology that uses the multiple interfaces between (future) water issues and social issues to not only ‘ground’ sociology, but also to ‘fluidise’ it.