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The geopolitics of water conflict and cooperation in the Euphrates-Tigris River Basin

Alexandra Turgul
College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences, Oregon State University; Corvallis; caplana@oregonstate.edu

ABSTRACT: This article examines the geopolitics of water conflict and cooperation in the Euphrates-Tigris River Basin from 1948 to 2023. Drawing on a newly constructed database of water-related interactions, it traces how hydropolitical interactions have been shaped by multi-scalar dynamics involving state, non-state and transnational actors. Conflict and cooperation in the basin often co-exist. Interstate cooperation has persisted at the technical level even as high-level cooperation has been stalled during periods of broader political instability; similarly, even during periods without interstate conflict, high-intensity water conflict has persisted at a more local scale as armed groups embroiled in regional conflicts utilised water as a weapon of war. The last two decades, however, have also seen broadened participation in water governance due to increasing involvement of NGOs and civil society initiatives. The analysis offered in this paper highlights the importance of taking a multi-scalar approach to the study of water conflict and cooperation and the role of geopolitics in shaping hydropolitics.

KEYWORDS: Hydropolitics, transboundary water, conflict and cooperation, Euphrates-Tigris, Middle East