* The most complete and rigorous examination of the core issues in global water privatization debates and conflicts
* Provides a wealth of cases studies, empirical data, thematic approaches, and frameworks for analysis
* Essential reading for academics, policymakers, donor agencies, and activists involved in water privatization issues around the world

In recent years, as globalization and market liberalization have marched forward unabated, the global commons continue to be commodified and privatized at a rapid pace. In this global process, the ownership, sale, and supply of water are increasingly the flashpoints for debates and conflict over privatization, and nowhere is the debate more advanced or acute than southern Africa.

"The Age of Commodity" provides an overview on the debates over water privatization including a conceptual overview of water "privatization," how it relates to human rights, macro-economic policy and GATS, and how the debates are shaped by research methodologies. The book then presents case studies of important water privatization initiatives in the region, drawing out crucial themes common to water privatization debates around the world including corruption, gender equity, and donor conditionalities. This is book is powerful and necessary reading in our new age of commodity.

Table of Contents:

Introduction ? Part I: Theory and Practice ? Theorizing Water Privatization ? The Constitutional Implications of Commercializing Water ? Turning Off the Taps on the GATS ? The New Water Architecture of SADC ? Part II: Case Studies in South Africa ? Entrenching Inequalities ? Managing the Poor by Remote Control ? A Political Economy of Public Private Contracts ? Public Money, Private Failure * The Murky Waters of Second Wave Neoliberalism * ‘Free Water’ as Commodity *
The Rise and Fall of Water Privatization in Rural South Africa * Part III: Case Studies in the Region * Stillborn in Harare * Fixing Failed Privatization With More Privatization * The New Face of Conditionalities * Water Privatization in Namibia * Alternatives to Privatization * Bibliography, Index