Prof. R Meissner

Qualifications

• PhD International Politics (UP, 2005)

Field of Specialisation

• International politics
• Transboundary water politics
• International and local water governance
• Water security
• Transnational interest groups
• International relations theory
• Philosophy of the natural and social sciences

Books

• Funke, N., Claassen, M., Meissner, R. and Nortje, K. (eds.) 2014. Reflections on the state of research and technology in South Africa’s marine and maritime sectors. Pretoria: Council for Scientific and Industrial Research.
• Meissner R. 2015. Interest groups, water politics and governance: The case of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project. Heidelberg: Springer.
• Meissner, R. 2016. Hydropolitics, interest groups and governance: The Case of the Proposed Epupa Dam. Cham, Switzerland: Springer International Publishing.

• Meissner, R. 2017. Paradigms and theories influencing water policies in the South African and international water sectors: PULSE³, a framework for policy analysis. Cham, Switzerland: Springer International Publishing.
• Meissner, R., Funke, N., Nortje, K. and Steyn, M. (eds.) 2019. Understanding water security at local government level in South Africa. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
• Meissner, R. 2021. eThekwini’s green and ecological infrastructure policy landscape: Towards a deeper understanding. Cham, Switzerland: Springer International Publishing.

Book chapters:

• Meissner, R. 2000. Hydropolitical hotspots in Southern Africa: The case of the Kunene River. In Water for Peace in the Middle East and Southern Africa. Green Cross International: Geneva, Switzerland.
• Meissner, R. 2000. Hydropolitical hotspots in Southern Africa: The case of the Kunene River. In Solomon, H. and Turton, A. (eds.), Water Wars: Enduring Myth or Impending Reality. Durban: The African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD).
• Turton, A. and Meissner, R. 2002. The Hydrosocial Contract and Its Manifestation in Society: A South African Case Study, in Turton, A.R. and Henwood, R. (eds.), Hydropolitics in the Developing World: A Southern African Perspective. Pretoria: African Water Issues Research Unit (AWIRU).
• Meissner, R. 2003. Interaction and Existing Constraints in International River Basins. In Nakayama, M. (ed.), International Waters in Southern Africa. Tokyo: United Nations University Press.
• Meissner, R. 2003. Regional Food Security and Virtual Water: Some Natural, Political and Economic Implications. In Hoekstra, A.Y. (ed.), Virtual Water Trade: Proceedings of the Expert Meeting on Virtual Water Trade. Delft, The Netherlands. Research Report Series No. 12. Delft: IHE Delft.
• Allan, T., Turton, T., Nicol, A. with Mendelson, S., Meissner, R. and Quaison, E. 2003. Policy options for water-stressed stats (POWSS). Building lessons from the Middle East and Southern Africa into decision support for policy makers. London: Overseas Development Institute.
• Meissner, R. 2005. Interest groups as local stakeholders involved in the water politics of a transboundary river: The case of the proposed Epupa Dam across the Kunene River. In Wirkus, L. (ed.), Water, development and cooperation—Comparative perspective: Euphrates-Tigris and Southern Africa. Paper 46. Bonn: Bonn International Center for Conversion.
• Meissner, R. 2006. Virtual water trade strategies for an industrialised and a developing country: The case of South Africa and Zambia. Bonn: German Development Institute.
• Meissner, R. 2006. Regional VWT regimes – potentials from a political science perspective: South Africa and Zambia case studies. In, Hummel, D., Kluge, T., Liehr, S and Hachelaf, M. (eds.), Virtual water trade: Documentation of an international expert workshop. Frankfurt am Main: Institute for Social-Ecological Research.
• Warner, J.F. and Meissner, R. 2008. The Politics of Security in the Okavango River Basin: From Civil War to Saving Wetlands (1975 – 2002). In Pachova, N.I., Nakayama, M. and Jansky, L. (eds.), International water security: domestic threats and opportunities. Tokyo: United Nations University Press.

• Jacobs, I., Meissner, R. and Ntombela, C. 2011. Eco-innovation polices in South Africa. Free document, Environment Directorate, OECD. Paris.
• Meissner, R. and Funke, N. 2014. The politics of establishing catchment management agencies in South Africa: the case of the Breede-Overberg Catchment Management Agency. In Huitema, D. and Meijerink, S. (eds.), The politics of river basin organisations: coalitions, institutional design choices and consequences. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing.
• Funke, N., Claassen, M., Meissner, R. and Nortje, K. 2014. The importance of a book on research and technology for the marine and maritime sectors. In Funke, N., Claassen, M., Meissner, R. and Nortje, K. (eds.), Reflections on the state of research and technology in South Africa’s marine and maritime sectors. Pretoria: Council for Scientific and Industrial Research.
• Meissner, R. 2014. A critical analysis of research paradigms in a subset of marine and maritime scholarly thought. In Funke, N., Claassen, M., Meissner, R. and Nortje, K. (eds.), Reflections on the state of research and technology in South Africa’s marine and maritime sectors. Pretoria: Council for Scientific and Industrial Research.

• Meissner, R., Stuart-Hill, S., Nakhooda, Z. 2017. The establishment of catchment management agencies in South Africa with reference to the Flussgebietsgemeinschaft Elbe: Some practical considerations. In, Karar, E. (ed.), Freshwater governance for the 21^st Century. Cham, Switzerland: Springer International Publishing.
• Meissner, R. 2017. To participate or not to participate? There is no question that local communities need to be involved in water and sanitation management. In Barnes, G. (ed.), Sustainable Water Resource Handbook, South Africa, Volume 7: The Essential Guide. Cape Town: Alive2Green.
• Meissner, R. and Warner, J. 2017. Hydro-Hegemony or Water Security Community? Collective Action, Cooperation and Conflict in the SADC Transboundary Security Complex. In Suhardiman, D., Nicol, A. and Mapedza, E. (eds.), Water governance and collective action: Multi-scale Challenges. New York and Abingdon, UK: Routledge.
• Meissner, R. 2018. The Water Demand Management Approach of Integrated Water Resource Management. In Barnes, G. (ed.), Sustainable Water Resource Handbook, South Africa, Volume 8: The Essential Guide. Cape Town: Alive2Green.
• Jacobs-Mata, I., De Wet, B., Banoo, I., Meissner, R., De Lange, W. and Strydom, W. 2018. Understanding residential water-use behaviour in urban South Africa. In Barnes, G. (ed.), Sustainable Water Resource Handbook, South Africa, Volume 8: The Essential Guide. Cape Town: Alive2Green.
• Steyn, M., Meissner, R., Nortje, K., Funke, N. and Petersen, C. 2019. Water security and South Africa. In Meissner, R., Funke, N., Nortje, K. and Steyn, M. (eds.) 2019. Understanding water security at local government level in South Africa. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
• Funke, N., Nortje, K., Meissner, R., Steyn, M. and Ntombela, C. 2019. An analysis of international and South African discourses and perspectives on water security. In Meissner, R., Funke, N., Nortje, K. and Steyn, M. (eds.) 2019. Understanding water security at local government level in South Africa. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
• Meissner, R., Steyn, M., Jacobs-Mata, I., Moyo, E., Shadung, J., Nohayi, N. and Mngadi, T. 2019. The perceived state of water security in the Sekhukhune District Municipality and the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality. In Meissner, R., Funke, N., Nortje, K. and Steyn, M. (eds.) 2019. Understanding water security at local government level in South Africa. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
• Nortje, K., Funke, N., Meissner, R., Steyn, M and Moyo, E. 2019. Beyond water quality and quantity: A typology towards understanding water security in South Africa. In Meissner, R., Funke, N., Nortje, K. and Steyn, M. (eds.) 2019. Understanding water security at local government level in South Africa. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
• Meissner, R. 2019. Towards an individual-centred water security theory. In Meissner, R., Funke, N., Nortje, K. and Steyn, M. (eds.), Understanding water security at local government level in South Africa. London: Palgrave Macmillan.

Journal articles

• Meissner, R. 1998. Water wars – Myth or Reality? SAIIA Review, 6(1), April 1998.
• Meissner, R. 1998. Piping water from the Okavango River to Namibia - the role of communities and pressure groups in water politics. Global Dialogue, 3(2), 1998.
• Meissner, R. 2000. In the spotlight…Interest groups as a role player in large water projects. SA Waterbulletin, 26(2), March/April 2000.
• Meissner, R. 2000. Water, a threat of war or an opportunity for peace? The case of the Orange River, Conflict Trends No. 2/2000. ACCORD: Durban.
• Meissner, R. 2001. Water Disputes: Drawing the Line. Conflict Trends No. 2/2001. ACCORD: Durban.
• Meissner, R. 2002. Regional Food Security: Using the Concept of Virtual Water. African Security Review, 11(3): 99-102.
• Meissner, R. and Turton, A.R. 2003. The Hydrosocial Contract Theory and the Lesotho Highlands Water Project. Water Policy, 5(2): 115-126.
• Meissner, R. 2003. Securing food through virtual water. Water Sewage & Effluent, 23(6): 28-29.
• Meissner, R. 2004. Foreign policy no longer the domain of governments only. Foreign Policy Monitor, June/July 2004: 1-2.
• Meissner, R. 2005. Interest groups and the proposed Epupa Dam: Towards a theory of water politics. Politeia, 24(3): 354-370.

• Meissner, R., Funke, N., Nienaber, S. and Ntombela, C. 2013. The status quo of research on South Africa’s water resource management institutions. Water SA, 39(5): 721-732.
• Meissner, R. 2015. The governance of urban wastewater treatment infrastructure in the Greater Sekhukhune District Municipality and the application of analytic eclecticism. International Journal of Water Governance, 3(2): 79-110. DOI: 10.7564/14-IJWG55.
• Meissner, R. and Ramasar, V. 2015. Governance and politics in the upper Limpopo River basin, South Africa. GeoJournal, 80(5): 689-709.
• Mwenge Kahinda, J., Meissner, R. and Engelbrecht, F. 2016. Implementing integrated catchment management in the upper Limpopo River Basin: A situational analysis. Physics and Chemistry of the Earth, 93: 104-118. DOI: 10.1016/j.pce.2015.10.003.
• Meissner, R. 2016. Paradigms and theories in water governance: The case of South Africa’s National Water Resource Strategy, Second Edition. Water SA, 42(1): 1-10.
• Meissner, R. and Jacobs, I. 2016. Theorising complex water governance in Africa: the case of the Proposed Epupa Dam on the Kunene River. International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, 16(1): 21-48.
• Meissner, R. 2016. Coming to the party of their own volition: Interest groups, the Lesotho Highlands Water Project Phase 1 and change in the water sector. Water SA, 42(2): 261-269.
• Meissner, R. 2016. Concepts and views from International Relations and their potential contribution to impact assessment thinking and practice. Politikon, 43(3): 411-428.
• Meissner, R., N. Funke, and K. Nortje. 2016. The politics of establishing catchment management agencies in South Africa: the case of the Breede-Overberg Catchment Management Agency. Ecology and Society 21(3):26. http://dx.doi.org/10.5751/ES-08417-210326.

• Meissner, R. 2016. The relevance of social theory in the practice of environmental management. Science and Engineering Ethics 22(5):1345-1360. DOI 10.1007/s11948-015-9700-y.
• Meissner, R. and Jacobs-Mata, I. 2016. South Africa’s drought preparedness in the water sector: Too little too late? SAIIA Policy Briefing 155, November 2016.
• Meissner, R., Jovanovic, N. and Petersen, C. 2017. What one knows is unknown to others: A sediment transport study and its policy application. International Journal of Water Governance, 5(1): 1-18.
• Meissner, R., Funke, N., Nortje, K., Jacobs-Mata, I., Moyo, E., Steyn, M., Shadung, J., Masangane, W., and Nohayi, N. 2018. Water security at local government level in South Africa: a qualitative interview-based analysis. The Lancet Planetary Health, 2(Supplement 1): S17. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(18)30102-5.
• Meissner, R., Steyn, M., Moyo, E., Shadung, J., Masangane, W., Nohayi, N. and Jacobs-Mata, I. 2018. South African local government perceptions of the state of water security. Environmental Science and Policy, 87:112-127. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2018.05.020.
• Meissner, R. 2018. Ocean governance for human health and the role of the social sciences. The Lancet Planetary Health, 2(7): e275-e276. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(18)30139-6.
• Meissner, R., Jacobs-Mata, I., and Murambadoro, M. 2018. Busting myths around urban household water use in South Africa. Water Wheel, May/June 2018: 41-43.
• Meissner, R. 2020. Climate change vulnerability assessment and adaptation: A comparative analysis of reports produced for local government in South Africa and South East Queensland, Australia. Politeia, 39(2): 27-48.
• Meissner, R. and Warner, J. 2021. Indigenous paradiplomacy and the Orokawe hydroelectric dam on the Kunene River. Regions and Cohesion, 11(1): 21-48.

Professional positions, fellowships & awards

• Honorary Research Fellow at the Centre for Water Resources Research (CWRR0 at the University of KwaZulu-Natal
• Member of the Southern African Association of Political Scientists (SAAPS)
• Reviewer of Water Research Commission (WRC) and National Research Foundation (NRF) research proposals.
• External supervisor at the University of Pretoria’s Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS)

Projects

• Understanding water security at local government level. I was the project leader of a Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) team that investigated the conceptualisation and state of water security in the eThekwini Metropolitan and the Sekhukhune District Municipalities.
• Lessons learned from the establishment of South Africa’s catchment management agencies.
• South Africa’s water governance institutions and their role of water resources management.
• Transformative learning in river basins.