Liberalism and International Law: Evidence from the Ganges Water Dispute

This article uses evidence from the Ganges Water Dispute to explore the relationshipbetween liberal international relations theory and international law. As such, this articleaddresses one of the primary questions in international law: why do states agree tointernational law? The Ganges Water Dispute between Bangladesh and India lasted 40years and was concluded with the sudden creation of the Ganges Water Treaty in 1996. This article argues that liberal international relations theory is of most use inunderstanding the surprising creation of this treaty, as opposed to the more conventionalapproaches to international law such as institutionalism or constructivism, because ittakes into consideration the role of regime type, domestic politics, and transnationalinteractions. In particular, Bangladesh’s transition to a liberal state in the early 1990s,elections in both India and Bangladesh, and pressure from the pending creation of a UNwater treaty facilitated the creation of the Ganges Water Treaty. While the literature onwater conflicts suggests that this treaty should not have been created, liberal theory, byfocusing on the interactive nature of domestic and international politics, points out thereasons for the successful creation of the treaty.