The Power Struggle in the Layer of Transnational Hydropolitics: The Case of the Ilisu Dam Project (original) (raw)
Related papers
2014
This study analyses Turkey’s relations with states and non-state actors on transboundary water issues by examining hydropolitics at the inter-state and transnational layers from 1923 to 2011. The cases investigated are Turkish – Syrian relations primarily over the Euphrates and Tigris basin, and relations between opponents and proponents over the construction of the Ilisu Dam, which is currently underway. Turkey is fully engaged in its ‘hydraulic mission’, very extensively and rapidly ‘developing’ water resources throughout its territory. Some of these flows cross international borders, specifically the very heavily contested Euphrates and Tigris basin. This large basin has attracted considerable academic attention, notably in regards to Turkey’s relations with downstream neighbours Syria, Iraq. Yet, the great bulk of the existing analysis falls prey to two broader weaknesses: a) it has narrowly applied the recently developed literature regarding the role of power in transboundary w...
Powerful Actors Make a Difference: Theorizing Power Attributes of Nonstate Actors
2016
Considering the increasing role of nonstate political actors in world events, this article examines the influence of these players on international crisis dynamics. A theoretical index is developed to assess the power status of nonstate actors (NSAs), taking into account their unique characteristics, advantages and weaknesses. When applied to ethnic-NSAs that participated in interstate crises, in the Cold War and in the post-Cold War periods, the findings indicate that powerful ethnic-NSAs affect crisis outcomes, and would do better to do so under circumstances that suit their power resources and skills, namely, in the post-Cold War multi-centric world system, in crises that involve a small number of states as direct crisis actors and in prolonged international hostile situations. In conclusion, the article highlights the importance of developing theoretical tools for systemic analysis of NSAs in world politics, and suggests directions for future research in this field of IR. It als...
International Water Conflict and Cooperation: The Role of Power Relations among Riparians *
2012
This paper analzyes a special kind of an environmental conflict – water disputes over international fresh water resources. In order to present a thorough explanation of this phenomenon, the paper discusses the Turkish-Syrian water conflict through following variables: (1) type of conflict (strategic versus symbolic); (2) structural variables that include both (a) regional power distribution between disputants and regional countries, and, (b) issue-power distribution; and (3) linkage variables that include a number of tactics to tie a simple water dispute to other issue/issues. It was found that Turkey, although it has maintained the power dominance in the EuphratesTigris Basin, tends toward a voluntary form of cooperation. The cooperative behavior of Turkey and Syria in water resource policy has been attributed to the Syrian and Turkish successful use of credible linkages, and to the mostly strategic character of the conflict rather than to Turkey’s hegemonic status.
Water International
Because water connects territories, its use involves collective action challenges and opportunities. Yet that action is complicated by the multiple meanings of water to people. Back in the 1990s, Donahue (1997) noted that water is understood in different ways: as an economic good (in the marketplace), as a political good (in bureaucracy) and as a cultural good (in kinship). Different actors use different perspectives of water to interact with each other, creating water conflicts and varying interests. In each case, power matters a great deal. Still, most of the literature on transboundary water is remarkably powerblind, or at least power-shy. When it appears, power is often seen as a problem. Yet power is also productive, in transboundary waters as much as in Newtonian mechanics. In both cases, it can be argued that nothing happens without the judicious application of power. Transboundary water interactions are inherently political, and are determined by the broader socio-political context of countries sharing the river basin (Barua et al., 2018; Warner et al., 2017). Some transboundary water scholars from different disciplines have been studying river basins to understand how power asymmetries between riparian nations influence interactions (
Transboundary water interaction II: soft power underlying conflict and cooperation
International Environmental …, 2010
This paper examines the role and effects of 'soft' or covert forms of power in non-violent water conflicts in hegemonic settings. It counters much of the work reflecting a growing interest in inter-state transboundary environmental analysis focused on links between natural resources and violent conflict. The first paper in this series (Zeitoun and Mirumachi, 2008) emphasised the existence of 'negative' forms of inter-state transboundary water interaction, and its role in worsening inter-state relations. The findings are built upon here to examine how the less observable forms of power, and power asymmetry, serve to perpetuate inequitable and ultimately unsustainable arrangements. In hegemonic situations where the 'first amongst equals' has a greater ability to define and shape the interaction, states with less capacity of covert power may find compliance the only pragmatic alternative. The paper also discusses how 'soft' power can be used to frame inequitable forms of cooperation in a positive light. The findings stress the importance of analysts questioning first or claimed appearances of 'positive' cooperation, and of examining the soft power underlying transboundary arrangements. An implication for policy is that power asymmetry be acknowledged and confronted, through attempts to level the playing field, or through the facilitation of steps for basin hegemons to take on leadership positions. Exemplification is given through consideration of transboundary water resources around the globe, primarily in the Middle East, North Africa and Asia.
Asymmetric Power: Negotiating Water in the Euphrates and Tigris
International Negotiation, 2009
This article addresses the conflict over the Euphrates and Tigris waters from the perspective of negotiation theories, by examining the role of power in upstream/downstream negotiations. Conceptual and empirical links are established between water, negotiation (structure, process), power (asymmetries, coalition dynamics, strategies, development of alternatives) and security (direct/indirect interests such as national security, border security, territorial claims, economic development and environmental concerns). The study concludes that asymmetries in power have favored upstream/downstream interactions towards bilateral if not basin-wide arrangements. The framework shows that traditional elements of power, such as upstream positions, military and economic resources, do not constitute the only sources of power. Bargaining power can also determine the dynamics between respective riparians. Time constitutes an important source of power, and interests vary over time when political settings and security concerns shift. Downstream or more vulnerable riparians can invert situations of power asymmetry by acting on the basin-dominant riparian’s interests and thus reduce its alternatives. Syria’s use of ‘issue linkage’ in its interactions with Turkey over water and wider security issues serves as the primary example.
Journal of World-Systems Research, 2015
Hydropolitical complexes are emerging to negotiate water-sharing policies that promote politicalstability, regional security, economic prosperity, and environmental sustainability. Yet interstatedisputes are occurring within most hydropolitical complexes, and weak riparians are oftencoerced to agree to water-sharing policies that adversely affect them. This research examines thestrategies weak riparians use to assert leverage in international river basins with asymmetricalpower, and the success of those strategies in achieving cooperation versus conflict. Grounded inthe theoretical framework of hydro hegemony, hard power, and soft power, this study uses crossnational analysis to test the effects of geographic, military, political, economic, technological,and external influence on water governance in eight international river systems. The resultsdemonstrate that weak riparians mobilize the assets and capacities of external actors, such asdonor countries and the World Bank, to increas...