Turkey-Syria water relations: Institutional development and political confrontations in the euphrates and tigris region

Abstract

The Euphrates-Tigris river system hosts Turkey, Syria and Iraq as its major riparian states. This chapter addresses the evolution of trans-boundary water politics in the Euphrates-Tigris river system in both its power dynamics and cooperative institutional development. For decades since the emergence of the water dispute, the state had stood as the major actor to formulate and implement trans-boundary water policies. However, the discourses and practices of the state bureaucracies, namely the water technocrats in the respective ministries and foreign office diplomats in the riparian states have evolved during the prolonged water dispute, which in turn has played a significant role in changing the nature of trans-boundary water relations. Hence the chapter looks into water relations between Turkey and Syria by paying particular attention to the role of the water bureaucracies in the reorientation of water policies from a conflictual to cooperative status in the 2000s. The chapter briefly concludes that even in the midst of the very recent political crisis between Turkey and Syria, partial institutionalization of water cooperation and growing networks of water dialogue both at the governmental and non-governmental tracks could be utilized as open channels for easing the tensions. After all, severe water shortages caused by mismanagement, misuse and prolonged drought conditions can only be addressed satisfactorily at the river basin level with the engagement of the concerned riparians. Hence, dialogue over water should be kept open at all costs. © 2013 Raymond Hinnebusch and Özlem Tür and the contributors.