Susanne Schmeier currently works as a Technical Adviser to the Mekong River Commission (MRC) – Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) Cooperation Programme. Her work focuses on sustainable hydropower development and the organizational transition of River Basin Organizations.
Susanne Schmeier studied International Relations, International Law and Economics at the University of Leipzig and the Institute d’Etudes Politiques Paris with a focus on sustainable development. Recently, she completed her doctoral studies at the Berlin Graduate School for Transnational Studies at the Hertie School of Governance, the Free University of Berlin and the Social Science Research Center (WZB). Her thesis assesses the determinants of river basin governance effectiveness and the role of River Basin Organizations.
More broadly, her research focuses on the sustainable governance of internationally shared natural resources and the environment. A particular emphasis thereby lies on the governance of shared water resources and the role institutions play in building resilience to environmental change in internationally shared rivers and lakes. In addition, she is interested in environmental governance in developing countries and ways to sustainably link development with water resources management.
Selected publications and presentations
- Schmeier, S. (2012): Navigating Cooperation beyond the Absence of Conflict: Mapping Determinants for the Effectiveness of River Basin Organizations, International Journal for Sustainable Societies, SpecialIssue: Water Wars in the 21st Century, 4, 1-2, 11-27
- Schulze, S. & Schmeier, S. (2012): Governing Environmental Change in International River Basins – The Role of River Basin Organizations, International Journal of River Basin Management, DOI:10.1080/15715124.2012.664820, 1-16
- Schmeier, S. (2011): Responding to Environmental and Social Change – Assessing the Adaptation Capacity of African International River and Lake Basin Organizations, Paper prepared for the 4th European Conference of African Studies (ECAS), 15 June 2011, Uppsala, Sweden
- Schmeier, S. (2011): Adaptation by a river basin organization: three cases of trigger and adaptive response within the Mekong River Commission, Paper prepared for the Colorado Conference on Earth System Governance “Crossing Boundaries and Building Bridges”, 17 May 2011, Fort Collins, USA (with A. Bell, A. Gerlak, T. Heikkila)
- Schmeier, S. (2011): Governing the Atom and the Waters: The Impact of International Institutions, Paper presented at the Hertie School of Governance Global Governance Colloquium, 13 April 2011, Berlin, Germany (with A. Tokhi)
- Schmeier, S. (2011): How to navigate River Basin Governance towards Effectiveness – Mapping Determinants for the Effectiveness of International River Basin Organizations, Paper prepared for the International Studies Association Annual Convention, 19 March 2011, Montreal, Canada
- Schmeier, S. (2011): Climate Change Discourse in Transboundary Waters: Framing Issues, Actions and Scales in the Mekong River Basin, Paper prepared for the International Studies Association Annual Convention, 19 March 2011, Montreal, Canada (with A. Gerlak)
- Schmeier, S. (2011): Resilience to Climate Change Induced Challenges in the Mekong River Basin. The Role of the MRC, World Bank Water Paper, May 2011
- Schmeier, S. (2010): Regionale Kooperationsstrukturen am Mekong und die institutionalisierte Bewältigung regionaler Konflikte um grenzüberschreitende natürliche Ressourcen (Regional Cooperation Structures on the Mekong and the institutionalized mitigation of regional conflicts on transboundary natural resources), Internationales Asienforum, 41, 3-4, 215-242 (with T. Menniken)
- Schmeier, S. (2010): Effective Governance of Transboundary Aquifers through Institutions – Lessons Learned from River Basin Organizations, Paper prepared for the International Conference “Transboundary Aquifers: Challenges and New Directions”, UNESCO, ISARM, 6-8 December 2010, Paris, France
- Schmeier, S. (2010): Governing International Watercourses – Perspectives from Different Disciplines. A Comprehensive Literature Review, Hertie School of Governance Working Papers No. 53, 8/2010, Berlin
- Schmeier, S. (2010): The Organizational Structure of River Basin Organizations. Lessons Learned and Recommendations for the Mekong River Commission (MRC), Technical Background Paper prepared for the MRC, April 2010
- Schmeier, S. (2009): Regional Cooperation Efforts in the Mekong River Basin: Mitigating river-related security threats and promoting regional development, in: Austrian Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, ASEAS, 2, 2/2009, 28-52
- Schmeier, S. (2009): Transboundary River Basin Management Institutions: Assessing river basin management from an International Relations perspective, Paper presented at the 2nd International DWA-Symposium on Water Resources Management, 1 April 2009, Berlin, Germany
- Schmeier, S. (2008): Staat oder Markt im sozioökonomischen Entwicklungsprozess. Eine vergleichende Analyse der Rolle des Staates im Entwicklungsprozess in Afrika und Südostasien (State or Market in socioeconomic development? A comparative analysis of the role of the state in socioeconomic development in Africa and Southeast Asia), Saarbrücken: VDM
