Staff Profile

José Esteban Castro has an interdisciplinary social science background. He was trained as a sociologist (1983-1988) at the National University of Buenos Aires (UBA), Argentina, where he became Head Teaching Assistant in Urban Sociology (Career of Sociology) and provided Research Methodology seminars at the Gino Germani Research Institute until 1990. He also studied Psychology at the same university (1984-1990). Castro obtained a Masters in Social Science at the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences (FLACSO) in Mexico (1990-1992), and became a Lecturer in Social Science at the same institution. In 1998, he received a DPhil in Politics from Oxford University. His dissertation focused on the interrelation between water politics and the formation of citizenship in Mexico, and was awarded the 1998 Post-graduate Prize of the British-Mexican Society. Before coming to Newcastle in 2005, he was a Senior Associate Researcher at Oxford University, Lecturer in Development Studies at the London School of Economics and Political Science, and Lecturer in Political Ecology at University College London. In 2016 he became an Emeritus Professor at Newcastle University. He was Principal Investigator at the National Research and Technical Council (CONICET), Argentina between 2016 and 2022.

Castro's work has focused mainly on Latin America and Europe, in particular Argentina, Brazil and Mexico.

Among other products of his research work in collaboration with international partners it is worth mentioning his coordination of the international research project Barriers and Conditions for the Involvement of Private Capital and Enterprise in Water Supply and Sanitation in Latin America and Africa: Seeking Economic, Social, and Environmental Sustainability (PRINWASS) (https://waterlat.org/projects-2/prinwass/)which was funded by the European Union. PRINWASS brought together social scientists, engineers and representatives of other disciplines relevant to water-related research from the UK, Finland, Greece, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Kenya, Mexico, and Tanzania. After the project's successful completion in 2004, with theparticipation of most project members, Castro led the creation of the international research network WATERLAT-GOBACIT (www.waterlat.org), which he also coordinates. The network is dedicated to research, teaching and practical action in relation to the politics and management of water. It has over 400 members (https://waterlat.org/team/),including PhD and Master students. The members come from over 30 countries, most from the Americas and Europe, but also from Africa and Asia. However, the members are not only scholars and students based in academic institutions as the network also includes water experts and practitioners working in government departments, water utilities, Non Governmental Organizations, as well as representatives from social movements, water user groups, labour unions, and other relevant social actors, including organised indigenous communities and grassroots movements. As part of the network's activities of dissemination and engagement with wider publics, it features a Youtube channel (https://www.youtube.com/user/Waterlat) and a Flickr photostream (https://www.flickr.com/photos/125391306@N03/). Within the network's framework,Castro has coordinated other international research projects and activities, including the project Democratisation of Water and Sanitation Governance by Means of Socio-Technical Innovation (DESAFIO)(www.desafioglobal.org), which focused on Brazil, Colombia and Argentina.

His research interests have focused on the long-term global processes of substantive democratisation, with emphasis on social struggles oriented at the defence of human rights, and the principles of solidarity, equality and justice against the recurrent threats posed by regressive politics, including genocidal political regimes of different sorts. His work on democratisation struggles led him to develop interest in water politics, a topic that became an important empirical research ground for him since the 1990s, among other issues focusing on the interrelations between the production and reproduction of socio-ecological inequalities and injustice and democratisation processes.

Castro is member of several professional institutions and academic networks, including the International Sociological Association (ISA) and the Latin American Sociological Association (ALAS). In 2012 he became a Corresponding Member of the Mexican Academy of Sciences (http://www.amc.mx/). He is a Visiting Professor at the Institute of Research on Latin American Studies (IELAT), University of Alcala, Spain, and a Visiting Professor at the Postgraduate Programmes in Sociology(PPGS), and Urban Development (MDU), and at the Centre for Advanced Studies (CEA), Federal University of Pernambuco(UFPE), Brazil.

See Google Scholar: here.

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6106-4313.

See also: Interviews, short articles, and public lectures.

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• Articles

  • Castro JE. Of lakes and knowledges: between disciplinary enclosures and the pursuit of “full transdisciplinarity”. Journal of Paleolimnology 2024, epub ahead of print.
  • Castro JE. Substantive democracy in the politics, management, and access to basic sanitation services. The centrality of scientific knowledge and democratic politics in the construction of a more humane, inclusionary, and sustainable society. A position Paper (in Portuguese). Revista Eletrônica de Gestão e Tecnologias Ambientais (GESTA) Gesta 2022, 10(2), 1-14.
  • Castro JE. Public-private transgressions in water-related public policies and their impact on hydrosocial spaces, territories, and basins. Lessons from Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico (in Portuguese, and Spanish). WATERLAT-GOBACIT Working Papers 2022, 9(2), 1-104.
  • Castro JE, Luengo Gonzalez E, Gutierrez Serrano N, Valencio N, Rausch G, Villalba L, Vienni B. Producing knowledge about Water. Theoretical and methodological controversies, flows, meanders, rigidities, and the pursuit of “full transdiciplinarity” (in English, Portuguese, and Spanish). WATERLAT-GOBACIT Working Papers 2022, 9(3), 1-123.
  • Castro JE. Disasters, inequalities, violence and democratization processes [in Portuguese]. Ciencia e Tropico 2021, 45(2), 133-154.
  • Castro JE. Solidaridades en confrontación, resistencias y órdenes sociales en tiempos de pandemia [Clashing solidarities, resistances, and social orders in times of pandemic]. Realis 2020, 10(1), 146-170.
  • Castro JE. Structural inequality and social determination (in Portuguese). Gestão & Sustentabilidade 2019, 8(3).
  • Castro JE, Sandoval Moreno A, Sanchez Rodríguez A, Moreno Muñoz D, García Marín R, Hernández García A, Díaz Cano M, López Barrera EA. Artisanal fishing and cultural heritage: territorial conflicts, resistances, and social transformation in Colombia, Mexico and Spain (in Spanish). WATERLAT-GOBACIT Network Working Papers 2019, 6(1), 1-88.
  • Castro JE, Bagué E. The struggle for democracy in Spain: grassroots initiatives to defend essential water services as a common good (articles in Spanish). WATERLAT-GOBACIT Network Working Papers 2018, 5(1), 1-169.
  • Castro JE. A gestão da água na América Latina (Water management in Latin America). Desafios do Desenvolvimento 2012, 9(74), 57.
  • Castro JE. Jacinta Palerm Viqueira and Tomás Martínez Saldaña (eds.), Aventuras con el agua: la administración del agua de riego, historia y teoría (Water Adventures: The Administration of Irrigation Water, History and Theory) (Texcoco, Mexico: CONACYT, 2009), pp. xxii + 435, pb. (book review). Journal of Latin American Studies 2011, 43(4), 818-820.
  • Castro JE. Gadaffi and Latin America. Society 2011, 48(4), 307-311.
  • Castro JE. Confronting water injustice. Global Dialogue, Newsletter of the International Sociological Association 2011, (5).
  • Castro JE. Bakker, Karen (2010), Privatizing Water. Governance Failure and the World's Urban Water Crisis. Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press [book review]. Water Alternatives 2011, 4(3), 252-256.
  • Castro JE. "El proceso de democratización de la gestión de servicios públicos esenciales de agua y saneamiento" (The process of democratization in the management of essential public services of water and sanitation). Hábitat y Sociedad 2011, (2), 83-103.
  • Hukka JJ, Castro JE, Pietilä PE. Water, policy, and governance. Environment and History 2010, 16(2), 235-251.
  • Castro JE. Review of: Prasad, Naren (ed.) (2008), Social Policies and Private Sector Participation in Water Supply: Beyond Regulation. New York: Palgrave-Macmillan. Development in Practice 2009, 19(7), 940-942.
  • Castro JE (ed), Simón Ruiz I (ed). Dossier: Agua y Desigualdad en América Latina (Special Issue on Water and Inequality in Latin America). Anuario de Estudios Americanos 2009, 66(2).
  • Castro JE. "Presentación" (Introduction). Dossier: Agua y Desigualdad en América Latina (Special Issue: Water and Inequality in Latin America, J. E. Castro and I. Simón Ruiz eds.), Anuario de Estudios Americanos 2009, 66(2), 15-22.
  • Castro JE. Water struggles, citizenship and governance in Latin America. Development 2008, 51(1), 72-76.
  • Castro JE. Neoliberal water and sanitation policies as a failed development strategy: Lessons from developing countries. Progress in Development Studies 2008, 8(1), 63-83.
  • Castro JE. Challenges and opportunities for developing a universalistic water ethic. Food Ethics 2008, 3(1), 7-9.
  • Castro JE. Water governance in the twentieth-first century. Ambiente e Sociedade 2007, 10(2), 97-118.
  • Castro JE. Systemic Conditions Affecting the Universalisation of Water and Sanitation Services: A Sociological Exploration. Journal of Comparative Social Welfare 2007, 23(2), 105-119.
  • Castro JE. Poverty and citizenship: Sociological perspectives on water services and public-private participation. Geoforum 2007, 38(5), 756-771.
  • Heller L, Castro JE. “Política pública de saneamento: apontamentos teórico-conceituais” (Public policy in environmental sanitation: theoretical and conceptual notes). Revista Engenharia Sanitaria e Ambiental 2007, 12(2), 222-233.
  • Castro JE. “La privatización de los servicios de agua y saneamiento en América Latina” (The privatization of water and sanitation services in Latin America). Nueva Sociedad 2007, (207), 93-112.
  • Castro JE. “El estudio interdisciplinar de los conflictos por el agua en el medio urbano: una contribución desde la sociología” (The interdisciplinary study of urban water conflicts: a sociological contribution). Cuadernos del CENDES 2007, 24(66), 21-46.
  • Castro JE. “A participação da iniciativa privada na prestação de serviços de água e saneamento. Algumas conclusões da pesquisa PRINWASS” (Private participation in the provision of water and sanitation services. Some research conclusions from the PRINWASS research project). Proposta, tri-monthly review for debate, Federation of Entitities for Social and Educational Assistance (FASE), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 2006, 29(110), 6-11.
  • Castro JE. Water governance: sustainability and policy innovation in water management. Urbanistica 2005, (127), 19-25.
  • Castro JE. Agua y gobernabilidad: entre la ideología neoliberal y la memoria histórica (Water and governance: between neoliberal ideology and historic memory). Cuadernos del CENDES, Universidad Central de Venezuela 2005, 59.
  • Castro JE. Urban water and the politics of citizenship: the case of the Mexico City Metropolitan Area during the 1980s and 1990s. Environment and Planning A 2004, 36(2), 327-346.
  • Castro JE, Swyngedouw E, Kaika M. London: structural continuities and institutional change in water management. European Planning Studies 2003, 11(3), 283-98.
  • Swyngedouw E, Kaika M, Castro JE. Urban water: a political-ecology perspective. Built Environment 2002, 28(2), 124-137.
  • Castro JE. La construcción de nuevas incertidumbres, tecnociencia, y la política de la desigualdad: el caso de la gestión de los recursos hídricos (The construction of new uncertainties, Techno-science, and the politics of inequality: the case of water resources management). Revista Iberoamericana de Ciencias, Tecnología, Sociedad e Innovación (Organization of American States for Education, Science, and Culture) 2002, (2).
  • Castro JE. El retorno del ciudadano. Los inestables territorios de la ciudadanía en América Latina (The return of the citizen. The unstable territories of citizenship in Latin America). Perfiles Latinoamericanos, Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences 1999, (14), 39-62.
  • Castro JE. La lucha por el agua y los derechos sociales de ciudadanía: el caso del Valle de México (The struggle over water and the social rights of citizenship: the case of the Valley of Mexico). Teoria e Pesquisa (Journal of the Social Sciences Department, Federal University of São Carlos, São Paulo, Brazil) 1998, (24-7), 7-64.
  • Castro JE. La formación de monopolios: el caso del agua en el Valle de México (siglos XV-XIX) (The formation of monopolies: the case of water in the Valley of Mexico (XV-XIX centuries)). Revista Novum (Department of Humanities, National University of Colombia) 1998, 7(18), 12-37.
  • Castro JE. Apuntes sobre el movimiento anarquista en la Argentina (Notes on the anarchist movement in Argentina). Relaciones (Journal of the Autonomous Metropolitan University of Mexico, UAM-Xochimilco) 1997, (15-6), 211-30.
  • Castro JE. Decentralization and modernization in Mexico: the case of water management. Natural Resources Journal 1995, 35(3), 461-87.
  • Castro JE. Book review of: Viqueira Landa, Carmen & Torre Medina Mora, Lydia (Eds.), Sistemas Hidráulicos, Modernización de la Agricultura y Migración, Toluca, Mexico: El Colegio Mexiquense and Universidad Iberoamericana, 1994. Journal of Latin American Studies 1995, 27(3), 733-734.
  • Castro JE. Book review (in Spanish) of: Andersen, Martin Edwin, Dossier Secreto. Argentina’s Desaparecidos and the Myth of the ‘Dirty War’, Boulder-San Francisco-Oxford: Westview Press, 1993. Argumentos 1995, (22), 86-88.
  • Castro JE. Book review (in Spanish) of: Roett, Riordan, Political & Economic Liberalization in Mexico. At a Critical Juncture?, Londres: Lynne and Rienner Pub (1993). Argumentos 1994, (20), 129-131.
  • Castro JE. Sobre la construcción de hipótesis en la investigación científica (On the construction of hypotheses in scientific research). Argumentos (Journal of the Autonomous Metropolitan University of Mexico, UAM-Xochimilco) 1993, (18), 81-99.
  • Castro JE. Georg Simmel y la tragedia de la cultura occidental (Georg Simmel and the tragedy of Western culture). Relaciones (Journal of the Autonomous Metropolitan University of Mexico, UAM-Xochimilco) 1992, (7-8), 5-11.
  • Grave PZ, Castro JE. ¿Funcionalismo o epistemología para las ciencias? (Functionalism or epistemology for the sciences). Argumentos (Journal of the Autonomous Metropolitan University of Mexico, UAM-Xochimilco) 1992, (15), 49-64.

• Authored Books

  • Castro JE. Democracy and Global Water Politics in Historical Perspective: Against water privatization. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2025. In Press.
  • Castro JE. Água e Democracia na América Latina (Water and Democracy in Latin America). Campina Grande, Paraiba, Brazil: State University of Paraiba Press (EDUEPB), and WATERLAT-GOBACIT Network, 2016.
  • Castro JE. Water, Power and Citizenship : Social Struggle in the Basin of Mexico. Houndmills, Basingstoke and New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2006.
  • Camou A, Castro JE. En Torno a la Obra de Niklas Luhmann (On the Work of Niklas Luhmann). Mexico City: Triana, 1997.

• Book Chapters

  • Castro JE. Socio-ecological violence, resistance, and democratization processes. In: Abraham M, ed. Power, Violence and Justice. Reflections, Responses and Responsibilities. New York and London: Sage, 2023, pp.65-86.
  • Castro JE. Water and sanitation services, and substantive democracy. In: Uende Aparecida Figueiredo Gomes, João Luiz Pena,and Josiane Teresinha Matos de Queiroz, ed. Dictionary of Basic Water and Sanitation Services. Foundations for participatory management in municipalities. Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil: National Health Foundation(FUNASA), and Federal University of Minas Gerais(UFMG), 2022, pp.595-605.
  • Castro JE. Conflicting hydrosocial territories [in Spanish]. In: Salgado López, JA, ed. Public Policy and Water: Justice, Human Rights, and Transparency. Jiutepec, Morelos, Mexico: Mexican Institute of Water Technology (IMTA), 2022, pp.25-33.
  • Metcalfe CD, Castro JE. Meeting the Sustainable Development Goals for Water and Sanitation. In: Metcalfe, CD; Menone, M; Collins, P; Tundisi, J, ed. The Paraná River Basin: Protecting Ecosystem Services Through Effective Water Management. London, UK: Routledge, 2020, pp.161-180.
  • Castro JE. Functionalism. In: Kobayashi, A, ed. International Encyclopedia of Human Geography. London: Elsevier, 2020, pp.239-245.
  • Castro JE. X-disciplinariedades y bifurcaciones en los estudios sobre el agua (X-disciplinarities and bifurcations in water studies). In: Castro JE; Kohan G; Poma A; Ruggerio C, ed. Territorialidades del Agua: Conocimiento y Acción para Construir el Futuro que Queremos (Water Territories: Knowledge and action to build the future that we want ). Newcastle upon Tyne, Buenos Aires, Guanajuato (Mexico): WATERLAT-GOBACIT Network, CICCUS Editions, University of Guanajuato, 2019, pp.18-47.
  • Castro JE. The challenge of universalizing essential water services in Latin America and the Caribbean. In: Petri, J; Mattila, H; Rajala, R; Schwartz, K; Staddon, C, ed. Resilient Water Services and Systems: The Foundation of Well-Being. London: International Water Association (IWA), 2019, pp.47-67.
  • Castro JE. Functionalism (including structural functionalism). In: Audrey Kobayashi, ed. International Encyclopedia of Human Geography (Second Edition). London: Elsevier, 2019. Submitted.
  • Castro JE. Socio-ecological inequality and the democratization process. In: Sosa Elízaga,R, ed. Facing an Unequal World: Challenges for Global Sociology. Los Angeles: Sage Studies in International Sociology, 2018, pp.301-325.
  • Castro JE. Poverty and citizenship: sociological perspectives on private participation in the provision of water services (in Spanish). In: Salamanca C; Astudillo F, ed. Resources, Links, and Territories. Cross-cutting Reflections on Water (in Spanish). Rosario, Argentina: National University of Rosario (UNR), 2017, pp.105-141.
  • Castro JE. Conflictos y luchas por el agua en el medio urbano: una contribución desde la sociología [Conflicts and struggles over water in the urban space: a sociological contribution]. In: Torregrosa ML, ed. The Conflict over Water. Politics, management, resistance, and social demand (in Spanish). Mexico City: Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences (FLACSO), 2017, pp.31-60.
  • Azpiazu D, Castro JE. Águas públicas: Lições de Buenos Aires (Public waters: Lessons from Buenos Aires). In: de Castro AML; Marques GJAL; Cosentino RVG; Quintslr S, ed. Crise Hídrica em Debate: Reflexões a partir do Seminário Internacional 2015 (The Water Crisis Debated: Reflections based on the 2015 International Seminar). Rio de Janeiro, Brasil: Núcleo Piratininga de Comunicação - NPC for the Special Commission on the Water Crisis, Municipal Chamber of Rio de Janeiro 2015 - 2016, 2016, pp.175-193.
  • Castro JE. A dimensão teórica da participação e do controle social (The theoretical dimension of social participation and democratic control). In: Heller, L; Aguiar, M; Rezende, S, ed. Participação e controle social em saneamento básico: conceitos, potencialidades e limites (Social participation and democratic control in basic sanitation: concepts, potentialities and limitations). Belo Horizonte and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: UFMG, 2016, pp.29-49.
  • Castro JE, Heller L, deMorais MP. Introduction. In: Castro JE, Heller L, deMorais MP, ed. O Direito à Água como Política Pública: uma Exploração Teórica e Empírica [The Right to Water as Public Policy: a Theoretical and Empirical Exploration]. Brasilia, Brazil: Institute of Applied Economic Policy (IPEA), 2015, pp.13-24.
  • Castro JE. Apuntes para una ecología política de la integración en América Latina y El Caribe [Notes for a Political Ecology of Integration in Latin America and the Caribbean]. In: Anuario de la Red de Investigadores sobre América Latina y el Caribe 2010 [2010 Yearbook of Network of Researchers on Latin America and the Caribbean]. Guadalajara, Mexico: University of Guadalajara (UdG), 2014, pp.479-502.
  • Castro JE. Políticas públicas de saneamento e condicionantes sistêmicos [Water and sanitation policies and systemic constraints]. In: Heller, L; Castro, JE, ed. Política Pública e Gestão de Serviços de Saneamento [Public Policy and Management of Water and Sanitation Services]. Belo Horizonte, Brazil: Editora UFMG, 2013, pp.53-75.
  • Castro JE, Heller L. Introdução [Introduction]. In: L. Heller and J.E. Castro, ed. Política Pública e Gestão de Serviços de Saneamento [Public Policy and Management of Water and Sanitation Services]. Belo Horizonte, Brazil: Editora UFMG, 2013, pp.25-49.
  • Azpiazu D, Castro JE. Aguas públicas: lecciones desde Buenos Aires. In: Pigeon,M; McDonald,DA; Hoedeman,O and Kishimoto,S, ed. Remunicipalización: El Retorno del Agua a Manos Públicas. Amsterdam: Transnational Institute, 2013, pp.74-95.
  • Castro JE. Water fountains in Buenos Aires, Argentina. In: Hynynen AJ; Juuti PS; Katko TS, ed. Water Fountains in the Worldscape. Finland: International Water History Association and KehräMedia, 2012, pp.66-71.
  • Castro JE. Southern Cone. In: Beavis, S.G., Dougherty, M.L., Gonzales, T, ed. The Berkshire Encyclopedia of Sustainability: The Americas and Oceania: Assessing Sustainability. Great Barrington, Massachusetts, USA: Berkshire Publishing Group, 2012, pp.292-295.
  • Castro JE. Participación y control social en el saneamiento básico (Participation and democratic social control in basic sanitation). In: Heller, L, ed. Agua y Saneamiento: en la Búsqueda de Nuevos Paradigmas para las Américas (Water and Sanitation: in Search of New Paradigms for the Americas). Washington DC: Pan American Health Organization, 2012, pp.137-155.
  • Castro JE. Luchas sociales por el agua y el proceso de democratización en América Latina (Social struggles over water and the democratization process in Latin America). In: Perevochtchikova, M, ed. Cultura del Agua en México. Conceptualización y Vulnerabilidad Social (Water Culture in Mexico. Conceptualization and Social Vulnerability). Mexico City: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México and Miguel Ángel Porrúa, 2012, pp.99-108.
  • Castro JE. Issues of Governance and Citizenship in Water Services: a reflection on Latin American experiences. In: Katko,T.S., Juuti, P.S., Schwartz, K, ed. Water Services Management and Governance: Lessons for a Sustainable Future. London: International Water Association (IWA), 2012, pp.133-143.
  • Castro JE. In search of meaningful interdisciplinarity: understanding urban water conflicts in Mexico. In: Barraqué, B, ed. Urban Water Conflicts. Paris and Leiden: UNESCO Publishing and Taylor and Francis, 2012, pp.129-145.
  • Castro JE. Gobernabilidad del agua y participación social [Water governance and social participation]. In: Murillo Licea, D, ed. La Gobernanza del Agua: Un Desafío Actual. Hacia una Mirada Crítica del Concepto y su Aplicación [Water Governance: a Current Challenge. Towards a Critical Approach of the Concept and its Application]. Jiutepec, Morelos, Mexico: Mexican Institute of Water Technology, 2012, pp.402-204.
  • Castro JE. Consumer Protest: Water. In: Southerton, D, ed. The Encyclopedia of Consumer Culture. London: Sage Publications, Inc, 2012, pp.303-305.
  • Azpiazu D, Castro JE. Aguas Públicas: Buenos Aires in Muddled Waters. In: Pigeon, M., McDonald, D.A., Hoedeman, O., Kishimoto, S, ed. Remunicipalisation: Putting Water Back into Public Hands. Amsterdam: Transnational Institute, 2012, pp.58-73.
  • Castro JE. Gestão Democrática nos Serviços de Saneamento (Democratic Management of Water and Sanitation Services). In: Heller, L, ed. Panorama do Saneamento Básico no Brasil (The Situation of Basic Sanitation in Brasil. Thematic Series Vol. 7). Brasilia, Brazil: Ministry of the Cities, 2011, pp.420-452.
  • Castro JE. The interdisciplinary challenge in water policy: the case of "water governance". In: E. Cabrera and F. Arregui, ed. Water Engineering and Management through Time – Learning from History. Leiden: CRC Press/Balkema, 2010, pp.259-276.
  • Castro JE. Private-Sector Participation in Water and Sanitation Services: The Answer to Public Sector Failures?. In: Ringer C; Biswas A; Cline SA, ed. Global Change: Impacts on Water and Food Security. Berlin and Heidelberg: Springer, 2010, pp.169-193.
  • Castro JE. O estudo interdisciplinar dos conflitos pela água no meio urbano: uma contribuição da Sociologia (The interdisciplinary study of water conflicts in urban environments: a sociological contribution). In: Zhouri A; Acselrad H; Laschefski K, ed. Desenvolvimento e Conflitos Ambientais (Development and Environmental Conflicts). Belo Horizonte, Brazil: Federal University of Minas Gerais Press, 2010, pp.176-201.
  • Castro JE. Agua y gobernanza en el siglo XXI. In: Cabrera, E, Arregui, F, ed. La Ingeniería y la Gestión del Agua a Través de los Tiempos. Aprendiendo de la Historia. Valencia, Spain: Instituto Tecnológico del Agua, Universidad Politécnica de Valencia y Aqualia, 2010, pp.325-350.
  • Castro JE. Systemic conditions and public policy in the water and sanitation sector. In: Castro JE; Heller L, ed. Water and Sanitation Services: Public Policy and Management. London: Earthscan, 2009, pp.19-37.
  • Castro JE. La experiencia de Inglaterra y Gales en la organización de la regulación de los servicios de agua y saneamiento (Regulation of water and sanitation services: the experience of England and Wales). In: Delclòs J, ed. Agua, un Derecho y no una Mercancía: Propuestas de la Sociedad Civil para un Modelo Público del Agua (Water: a Right, Not a Commodity: Civil Society Proposals for a Public Model of Water Services). Barcelona: Icaria, 2009, pp.179-217.
  • Castro JE, Heller L. Introduction. In: Castro JE; Heller L, ed. Water and Sanitation Services: Public Policy and Management. London: Earthscan, 2009, pp.1-16.
  • Castro JE. Gemeinschaftsgüter und Bürgerschaft: Widersprüche einer sich entfaltenden Beziehung (Commons and citizenship: the contradictions of an unfolding relationship). In: Silke Helfrich and Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung, ed. Wem gehört die Welt? Zur Wiederentdeckung der Gemeingüter (Genes, Bytes and Emissions: Common Goods and Citizenship). Berlin: Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung, 2009, pp.39-50.
  • Castro JE. Functionalism (including Structural Functionalism). In: Kitchin R; Thrift N, ed. International Encyclopedia of Human Geography. London: Elsevier, 2009, pp.277-282.
  • Castro JE. Commons and citizenship: the contradictions of an unfolding relationship (also published in Spanish and German). In: Helfrich, S, ed. To Whom does the World Belong?. Washington DC: Heinrich Böll Foundation, 2009, pp.1-10.
  • Castro JE. Apuntes sobre el Proceso de Mercantilización del Agua: un Examen de la Privatización en Perspectiva Histórica (Notes on the process of water commodification: an examination of privatization in historical perspective). In: Espinoza S, ed. Justicia Ambiental y Sustentabilidad Hídrica (Environmental Justice and Water Sustainability). Cochabamba, Bolivia: Comisión para la Gestión Integral del Agua en Bolivia (CGIAB), Centro de Estudios Superiores Univesitarios, Universidad Mayor de San Simón, and Intercooperation, 2009, pp.11-29.
  • Castro JE. A Participação Privada nos Serviços de Saneamento: lecciones da experiencia internacional (Private participation in water and sanitation services: lessons from the international experience). In: Lei Nacional de Saneamento Básico. Perspectivas para as Políticas e a Gestão dos Serviços Públicos U (The Basic Sanitation National Law. Perspectives for Public Policy and Management of Public Services). Brasilia: Ministry of the Cities, National Secretary of Basic Sanitation, 2009, pp.583-599.
  • Castro JE. Los bienes comunes y la ciudadanía: contradicciones de una relación en pleno desarrollo (Commons and citizenship: the contradictions of an unfolding relationship). In: Helfrich S, ed. Genes, bytes y emisiones: Bienes comunes y ciudadanía (Genes, bytes and emissions: common goods and citizenship) [the book is also published in German and the English version is forthcoming]. Mexico City: Heinrich Böll Foundation Editions, 2008, pp.68-80.
  • Castro JE. Apuntes sobre el Proceso de Mercantilización del Agua: un Examen de la Privatización en Perspectiva Histórica (Notes on the process of water commodification: an examination of privatization in historical perspective). In: Jaume Delclos Ayats, ed. Agua, un Derecho y no una Mercancía. Propuestas de la Sociedad Civil para un Modelo Público del Agua (Water: a Right, not a commodity. Civil Society Proposals for a Public Model of Water Services). Barcelona: Icaria, 2008, pp.35-55.
  • Castro JE. A normatização da prestação dos serviços de água e esgoto, a experiência de Inglaterra e Gales (Regulation of water and sanitation services: the experience of England and Wales). In: Alceu de Castro Galvão Junior and Marfisa Maria de Aguiar Ferreira Ximenes, ed. Regulação: Normatização da Prestação dos Serviços de Água e Esgoto (Regulation: Normativity of Water and Sanitation Services). Fortaleza, Brazil: ABAR - ARCE, 2008, pp.161-201.
  • Castro JE. “Proposiciones para el examen teórico y empírico de la privatización: el caso de los servicios de agua y saneamiento en América Latina” (Propositions for the theoretical and empirical examination of privatization: the case of water and sanitation services). In: Fundación Seminario de Investigación para la Paz (SIP), ed. El agua, derecho humano y raíz de conflictos (Water: human right and source of conflicts). Saragossa, Spain: Government of Aragón, Spain, Fundación Seminario de Investigación para la Paz (SIP), 2008, pp.367-390.
  • Castro JE. The political ecology of water uncertainty and inequality: a sociological contribution. In: Leite da Silva Dias P; Costa Ribeiro W; Hidalgo Nunes L, ed. A Contribution to Understanding the Regional Impacts of Global Change in South America. Sao Paulo, Brazil: Institute of Advanced Studies, University of Sao Paulo, 2007, pp.239-259.
  • Castro JE. Urban conflicts over water in Mexico: a theoretical and empirical exploration. In: Barraqué B; Vlachos E, ed. Urban Water Conflicts: an Analysis on the Origins and Nature of Water-related Unrest and Conflicts in the Urban Setting. Paris: UNESCO Water Sciences Division, 2006, pp.71-90.
  • Castro JE, Heller L. The development of water and sanitation services in Argentina and Brazil. In: Juuti P; Katko T; Vuorinen H, ed. Environmental History of Water - Global View of Community Water Supply and Sanitation. London: International Water Association, 2006, pp.429-445.
  • Castro JE, Torregrosa Armentia ML, Allen A, Gómez González Cosío R, Vera J, Kloster K. Institutional Development and Political Processes, Baseline Document for the Cross-Cutting Perspective 2 Also available in Spanish as Desarrollo Institutional y Procesos Políticos. In: National Water Commission, Mexico, ed. Thematic Documents, IV World Water Forum. Mexico City: National Water Commission, 2006.
  • Castro JE. Agua, democracia y la construcción de la ciudadanía (Water, democracy, and the construction of citizenship). In: Esch S; Delgado M; Helfrich S; Salazar Ramírez H;Torregrosa ML; Pérez-Tejada IZ, ed. La Gota de la Vida: Hacia una Gestión Sustentable y Democrática del Agua (The Drop of Life: Towards a Sustainable and Democratic Management of Water). Mexico City: Heinrich Böll Foundation Editions, 2006, pp.266-287.
  • Castro JE. Águas disputadas: regimes conflitantes de gobernabilidade no setor dos serviços de saneamento (Contested waters: conflicting governance regimes in the water and sanitation sector). In: Dowbor L; Tagnin R, ed. Administrando a Água como se Fosse Importante: Gestão ambiental e Sustentabilidade (Managing Water as something that Really Matters: Environmental Management and Sustainability). Sao Paulo, Brazil: SENAC Editora, 2005, pp.47-59.
  • Castro JE. Entries on “drinking water”, “water-borne diseases”, “water user associations”, “water management”, “rainwater harvesting”, “citizenship”, and “Zapatistas”. In: Forsyth T, ed. Encyclopedia of International Development. London: Routledge, 2004.
  • Castro JE, Kloster K, Torregrosa ML. Ciudadanía y gobernabilidad en México: el caso de la conflictividad y la participación social en torno a la gestión del agua (Citizenship and governance in Mexico: conflict and social participation around water management). In: Jiménez B; Marín L, ed. El Agua en México Vista desde la Academia (Water in Mexico: an Academic Perspective). Mexico City: Academia Mexicana de Ciencias, 2004, pp.339-370.
  • Castro JE, Kloster K, Studer I, Torregrosa ML. Ciudadanía y gobernabilidad en la cuenca del Río Bravo-Grande (Citizenship and governance in the Rio Bravo-Grande basin). In: Jiménez B; Marín L, ed. El Agua en México Vista desde la Academia (Water in Mexico: an Academic Perspective). Mexico City: Academia Mexicana de Ciencias, 2004, pp.199-232.
  • Castro JE. Incertezas manufacturadas, tecnociência e políticas de desigualdade: o caso da gestão dos recursos hídricos (Manufactured uncertainties, techno-science, and the politics of inequality: the case of water resources management). In: Martins H; García JL, ed. Dilemas da Civilizacao Tecnológica (Dilemmas of the Technological Civilization). Lisbon: Imprensa de Ciências Sociais, 2003, pp.199-223.
  • Castro JE. Entries on “Argentina”, “commodification”, “Karl Marx”, “Rio de la Plata River”, “Socialism and Communism”, and “Southern Cone”. In: Krech S; McNeill JR; Merchant C, ed. Encyclopedia of World Environmental History. New York: Routledge, 2003.
  • Castro JE. Luta social pela água e direito à cidadania (Social struggle over water and citizenship rights). In: Bragança de Miranda JA; Frederico da Silveira J, ed. As Ciências da Comunicaçao na Viragem do Século (The Sciences of Communication at the Turn of the Century). Lisbon: Vega Editores, 2002, pp.300-312.
  • Castro JE. El control social del agua y la formación de los derechos de ciudadanía en México: una perspectiva de largo plazo (The social control of water and the formation of citizenship rights in Mexico: a long-term perspective). In: Bremer T; Schütz S, ed. América Latina: Cruce de Culturas y Sociedades. La Dimensión Histórica y la Globalización Futura (Latin America: Crossing of Cultures and Societies. The Historical Dimension and the Future Globalization). Halle-Wittenberg, Germany: Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, 1998.
  • Castro JE. Niklas Luhmann y la tradición sociológica (Niklas Luhmann, and the sociological tradition). In: Camou A; Castro JE, ed. En Torno a la Obra de Niklas Luhmann (On the Work of Niklas Luhmann). Mexico City: Triana, 1997, pp.51-81.

• Conference Proceedings (inc. Abstracts)

  • Castro JE. Democratizing the politics, management, and access to essential water and sanitation services. In: Human Right to Water. An Interdisciplinary Focus and Contributions on the Central Role of Public Policies in Water and Sanitation Management. 2017, Vatican City: Pontifical Academy of Sciences.
  • Castro JE. Desarrollo Institucional y Procesos Políticos (final version of paper submitted in September 2005). In: International Water Conference “Sowing Water for the Future” in Preparation for the IV World Water Forum 2006. 2005, Villa Hermosa, Tabasco, 28-31 June 2005: National Water Commission, Mexico.

• Digital or Visual Media

  • Castro JE. Substantive democracy in the politics, management, and access to basic sanitation services. Interview. London: Faculti, 2024.
  • Castro JE. Interview with Sergio Mauricio Zamora Betancur, Workers Union of Cali's Municipal Utilities (SINTRAEMCALI), Cali, Colombia (in Spanish). WATERLAT-GOBACIT Network, 2019.
  • Castro JE. The tension between social and environmental injustice. Interview with Wilson Arias Castillo, Polo Democrático Alternativo, Cali, Colombia (Spanish). Buenos Aires and Newcastle upon Tyne: DESDEMO Project, 2018.
  • Castro JE. The tension between social and environmental injustice. Interview with Ricardo Vieira Coutinho, Governor of Paraiba (2011-2018), Brazil (Portuguese). Buenos Aires and Newcastle upon Tyne: DESDEMO Project, 2018.
  • Castro JE. The tension between social and environmental injustice. An interview with Juan Carlos Marin (in Spanish). Newcastle upon Tyne and Buenos Aires: DESDEMO Project - WATERLAT-GOBACIT Network, 2018.
  • Castro JE. Who owns the water (in Spanish)?. Barcelona: Okupem les Ones. Assembly for Social Communication, 2011. .

• Edited Books

  • Castro JE, Fowler B, Gomes L, ed. Time, Science and the Critique of Technological Reason: Essays in Honour of Hermínio Martins. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave MacMillan, 2018.
  • Castro JE, Heller L, da Piedade Morais M, ed. O Direito à Água como Política Pública: uma Exploração Teórica e Empírica [The Right to Water as Public Policy: a Theoretical and Empirical Exploration]. Brasilia, Brazil: Institute of Applied Economic Policy (IPEA), 2015.
  • Castro JE, Heller L, Morais MP, ed. Special Dossier on "La Lucha por el Derecho al Agua y las Políticas Públicas en América Latina" (The struggle over the right to water and public policy in Latin America). [Special issue of Agua y Territorio, vol. 1, no. 2]. University of Jaen, 2013.
  • Heller L, Castro JE, ed. Política Pública e Gestão de Serviços de Saneamento. Brazil & Rio de Janeiro: Belo Horizonte: Editora da Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais Press & Editora FIOCRUZ, 2013.
  • Castro JE, Heller L, ed. Water and Sanitation Services: Public Policy and Management. London: Routledge, 2011.

• Online Publications

  • Castro JE. Art, Communication, Culture, and Education as tools for democratizing water Politics and management in Latin America (in Portuguese, and Spanish). Newcastle upon Tyne: WATERLAT-GOBACIT Network, 2022. Available at: https://zenodo.org/doi/10.5281/zenodo.7821696.
  • Castro JE. Socio-Ecology: Contradictions and Opportunities in the Struggles for Better Futures. Vienna: International Sociological Association, 2015. Available at: http://futureswewant.net/esteban-castro-socio-ecology/.
  • Castro JE. Inequality, injustice, and social change: the fate of artisanal fishing communities in Latin America (In Spanish and Portuguese). Dossier containing 7 articles produced by authors from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Mexico. Newcastle upon Tyne, UK: WATERLAT-GOBACIT Network, 2015. Available at: http://waterlat.org/WPapers/WPSATCTH24.pdf.
  • Castro JE. A inclusão social garantida pela gestão pública do saneamento [Social inclusion guaranteed by public delivery of water and sanitation (in Portuguese)]. Brasilia, Brazil: National Association of Municipal Water and Sanitation Services (ASSEMAE), 2015. Available at: http://app.assemae.org.br/s/?15062.322.750946.0.1.23752.9.212070678.0.10.0.0.157095.0.0.56767.
  • Castro JE, Heller L. A participação privada em saneamento e seus sofismas (Private participation in water and sanitation services and its sophistry). Rio de Janeiro: Jornal do Brasil, 2013. Available at: http://www.jb.com.br/plataforma-politica-social/noticias/2013/02/06/a-participacao-privada-em-saneamento-e-seus-sofismas/.

• Reports

  • Portella S, Castro JE. Confronting the Politics of Inequality in the Social Construction of Disasters: the case of mining waste dams (in English, Portuguese, and Spanish). Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, and Newcastle upon Tyne: WATERLAT-GOBACIT Research Network, 2019. WATERLAT-GOBACIT Research Network Policy Briefs 2.
  • Castro JE, Ferreira HMR. Socio-Technical Dimensions of the "Integrated Sanitation" System in Low-Income Neighbourhoods in Recife, Brazil. Newcastle upon Tyne and Recife, Brazil: Newcastle University and Federal University of Pernambuco, 2015. WATERLAT-GOBACIT Working Papers - DESAFIO Project Vol. 2, No. 10.
  • Castro JE. National, regional and EU policy guidelines for the provision of innovative WSS. Newcastle upon Tyne: Newcastle University, 2015. DESAFIO Project.
  • Castro JE. Governance and Active Citizenship: Linkages Between Economic and Social Development, and Access to Essential Water and Sanitation Services, Work Package 1 Report, Deliverable D1.1", DESAFIO Project. Newcastle upon Tyne, UK: Newcastle University, 2015. WATERLAT-GOBACIT Working Papers - DESAFIO Project Vol. 2, No. 14.
  • Castro JE. Democratisation of Water and Sanitation Governance by Means of Socio-Technical Innovation, Final Project Reports. Newcastle upon Tyne, UK: Newcastle University, 2015. WATERLAT-GOBACIT Working Papers - DESAFIO Project Vol. 2, No. 16.
  • Castro JE. Cross-comparative Analysis of Country Practices within the Latin American Context. Newcastle upon Tyne, UK: Newcastle University, 2015. WATERLAT-GOBACIT Working Papers - DESAFIO Project Vol. 2, No. 15.

• Reviews

  • Castro JE. Review of "The human right to water. Theory, practice and prospects". Cambridge University Press, 2017, edited by M. Langford and A.F.S. Russell, Water Alternatives. Water Alternatives 2020.
  • Castro JE. Antonio Loris 2015: Water, State and the City. London and New York: Palgrave Macmillan. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research 2017, 41(6), 1034-1035.
  • Castro JE. Review of “Global Capitalism in Crisis: Karl Marx and the Decay of the Profit System” by Murray E. G. Smith (Halifax and Winnipeg, Fernwood Publishing, 2010). Global Discourse: A Developmental Journal of Research in Politics and International Relations 2011, 2(1).
  • Castro JE. Review of three books: Siemens, A. H. (1998), A Favored Place. San Juan River Wetlands, Central Veracruz, A. D. 500 to the Present, Austin: University of Texas Press; Martínez S., T. and J. Palerm V. (eds.) (1998), Antología sobre Pequeño Riego, Mexico: Instituto de Socioeconomía, Estadística e Informática; Suárez Cortez, B. E. and D. Birrichaga Gardida (1997), Dos Estudios sobre Usos del Agua en México (Siglos XIX y XX), Instituto Mexicano de Tecnología del Agua (IMTA) and Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios Superiores en Antropología Social (CIESAS). Journal of Latin American Studies 2001, 33(3), 663-666.
  • Castro JE. Book review of: Horn, Rebecca (1997), Postconquest Coyoacán: Nahua-Spanish Relations in Central Mexico 1519-1650, Stanford University Press. Journal of Latin American Studies 2000, 32(2), 566-567.
  • Castro JE. Andreopoulos, G.J. (ed.) 'Genocide. Conceptual and Historical Dimensions', Pennsylvania: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1997 [Book review]. International Journal of Refugee Law 1999, 11(1), 243-247.
  • Castro JE. Book review of: Bennett, Vivienne (1995), The Politics of Water. Urban Protest, Gender, and Power in Monterrey, Mexico, Pittsburgh and London: Pittsburgh University Press. Journal of Latin American Studies 1998, 30(3), 652-653.
  • Castro JE. Book review of: Gayol, Roberto, Dos Problemas de Vital Importancia para México: la Colonización y el Desarrollo de la Irrigación, Mexico City: CIESAS-IMTA, 1994; Palacios, Leopoldo, El Problema de la Irrigación, Mexico City: CIESAS-IMTA, 1994; Herrera y Lasso, José, Apuntes sobre Irrigación: Notas sobre su Organización Económica en el Extranjero y en el País, Mexico City: CIESAS-IMTA, 1994. Journal of Latin American Studies 1995, 27(2), 480-482.

• Working Papers

  • Castro JE. Monopoly process and State formation: water control in the Valley of Mexico in historical perspective (XV to XIX centuries) (in Spanish). Documentos de Trabajo 2017, (101), 4-69.
  • Castro JE. Cross Comparative Analysis of Country Practices within the Latin American context. WATERLAT-GOBACIT Working Papers - DESAFIO Project 2016, 2(15), 90-141.
  • Castro JE. An examination of the politics of privatization of water and sanitation services in Africa, Europe, and Latin America (1990-2004). Final Report. WATERLAT-GOBACIT Working Papers - PRINWASS Project. WATERLAT-GOBACIT Working Papers - PRINWASS Project 2016, 3(3), 1-114.
  • Castro JE. An examination of the politics of privatization of water and sanitation services in Africa, Europe, and Latin America (1990-2004). Comparative analyses. WATERLAT-GOBACIT Working Papers 2016, 3(8), 1-363.
  • Castro JE, Ferreira HMR. The Condominial Sanitation System in Zones of Special Social Interest (ZSSI) in Recife, Brazil. WATERLAT-GOBACIT Working Papers, DESAFIO Project Series SPIDES 2015, 2(7).
  • Castro JE. DESAFIO’s Theoretical and Methodological Framework. WATERLAT-GOBACIT Working Papers, DESAFIO Project Series SPIDES 2015, 2(14), 58-87.
  • Castro JE, Echaide J, March H, Saurí D, Quintslr S, Britto AL, Colmenares R, Piccini C, Aharonian A. Contradictions, obstacles, and opportunities for the implementation of the human right to water (in Portuguese and Spanish; with an Introduction in English). WATERLAT-GOBACIT Network Working Papers, Thematic Area Series, TA3 Urban Water Cycle and Essential Public Services 2014, 1(2), 1-92.
  • Castro JE, Azpiazu D, Forcinito K, Marín JC, Forte G, Catenazzi A, Representação N, Crenzel EA, Roze JP, Ceballos M. An examination of the politics of privatization of water and sanitation services in Latin America. The experience of Argentina. (In Spanish, with an Introduction in English). WATERLAT-GOBACIT Network Working Papers, Research Projects Series, PRINWASS Project 2014, 1(3), 1-312.
  • Castro JE, Rocha Ferreira H, Ramos A. Inovações e desafios para a democratização dos serviços de saneamento. Síntese da Primeira Conferência [in Portuguese] [Innovations and challenges for the democratization of water and sanitation services. Synthesis of the First Conference]. WATERLAT Network Working Papers, Research Projects Series, DESAFIO Project – SPIDES 2013, 1(1), 11-121.
  • Castro JE. Apuntes para una ecología política de la integración en América Latina y El Caribe [Notes for a Political Ecology of Integration in Latin America and the Caribbean]. Documentos de Trabajo Interuniversitarios CIFF- IELAT 2013, (12), 21.