World Water Forums, knowledge production and the imagined "Global Water Community

The World Water Forums (WWFs), organized every three years by a host country and the World Water Council (WWC), gather a large number of diverse stakeholders and address multiple water issues. Various global knowledge networks intersect at the forums and shape the knowledge that is being produced. The article examines the (re)production of knowledge at WWFs and first analyses the extent and nature of the inclusiveness claimed by the forums. It then shows how the idea of a ''global water community'' is weakened by the contested legitimacy of the WWC and partly defeated by systemic sociological factors, active management of the status quo, and organized dissent.