Includes bibliographical references (pages 178-206) and index.
Contents:
Resisting water privatisation: An introduction -- Capitalism's relentless thirst for accumulation -- Mobilising from below: the victory in the Italian water referendum -- Water is a Human Right: The first European Citizens' Initiative over public water -- Contesting the Troika: resistance in Greece against imposed water privatisation -- 'We will strike, we will fight, water is a human right': The Irish people rise up -- Transforming capitalism towards the commons? Machine generated contents note: ch. 7 Notes. Introduction -- Conceptualizing water struggles -- Overview of the book -- Notes -- ch. 2 Capitalism's Relentless Thirst for Accumulation -- Introduction -- Capitalist accumulation and the relentless drive to outward expansion -- The global economic crisis of the 1970s and its resolution -- Global financial crisis, transnational capital and the privatization of water -- Conclusion -- Notes -- ch. 3 Mobilizing from Below: Victory in the Italian Water Referendum -- Introduction -- The road to victory -- La lotta continua: The aftermath of the 2011 referendum -- Ongoing struggles: The examples of Arezzo, Turin and Naples -- Conclusion: Lasting legacies of the Italian water movement -- Notes -- ch. 4 Water is a Human Right: The First European Citizens' Initiative Over Public Water -- Introduction -- Mobilizing for change EU policy-making within capitalist structuring conditions -- Conclusion: Links of transnational solidarity -- Notes -- ch. 5 Contesting the Troika: Resistance in Greece Against Imposed Water Privatization -- Introduction -- In the claws of the Eurozone crisis -- Fighting against water privatization -- Capital strikes back -- Conclusion: Residues of resistance -- Note -- ch. 6 `We Will Strike, We Will Fight, Water is a Human Right': The Irish People Rise Up -- Introduction -- From agricultural autarky to export-oriented development -- Social partnership and the lack of resistance against austerity -- The Irish people rise up: No to water charges -- Conclusion: In search of new forms of democracy -- Notes -- ch. 7 Transforming Capitalism Towards the Commons? -- Introduction -- Key factors sustaining the success of water struggles -- The human right to water as a progressive strategy?tMobilizing for change Participatory democracy and the transformation of water -- Conclusion: Open-ended struggles over the future of water -- Notes.
Summary:
"In the wake of the global financial crisis, neoliberal restructuring has continued unabated across Europe, with the privatisation of public services a key element of both national austerity policies, and EU-level economic governance structures. Water services in particular have been at the centre of this neoliberal assault - in Greece, the Eurozone crisis has been used as an excuse to impose water privatisation in exchange for bailout agreements. In parallel, the struggle against water privatisation has continued to pick up pace; from the re-municipalisation of water in Grenoble in 2000, to the United Nations declaration of water as a human right in 2010. In Fighting for Water, Andreas Bieler draws on years of extensive fieldwork to dissect the underlying dynamics of the struggle for public water in Europe. From the successful referendum against water privatisation in Italy, via the European Citizenship initiative on 'Water and Sanitation are a Human Right', to the struggles against water privatisation in Greece and water charges in Ireland, Bieler shows why water has been a fruitful arena for resistance against neoliberal restructuring."-- Provided by publisher.
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