Gouvernance de l’eau et conflits de qualification en Indonésie. Une lecture institutionnaliste de la loi sur l’eau

This article aims to examine the process of repealing the Framework Water Law (Law 7/2004) in Indonesia. We analyze the strategies of actors with antagonistic interests that shape the Indonesian society, taking into account power relations. To do this, we develop an analytical framework based on the concepts of institutional change, governance and qualification. The historical approaches of the institutional change are used to build a periodization of the law by identifying breaking points reflecting new water governance modes. Regulationist approaches of governance and those in political ecology enrich the framework by considering the power relations underlying the choice of a water governance mode. Finally, mobilizing the economy of conventions leads to deciphering the qualifications to which the actors refer to justify a specific governance mode. The methodology is based on a qualitative approach. Three results are highlighted. First of all, conflicts among actors leading to the change of rules are conflicts over the water qualification. According to their interests, actors develop various discourses of justification based on different values. Moreover, these discourses reveal a mechanical link between a water qualification and a governance mode considered as the fairest. Finally, the choice of water governance modes is made according to power relations evolving over time.