Sources of Conflict in the Euphrates-Tigris Basin and Its Strategic Consequences in the Middle East.

摘要

The potential for conflict over water is enormous since freshwater resources are finite, unevenly distributed, and often shared by more then one country. However, given its importance for basic survival, industry, energy production and other fundamental components of society, water can also become a reason for cooperation as parties in water-scarce regions join together to manage this crucial shared resource. The Euphrates-Tigris basin is one of those regions, where equitable and reasonable distribution of water is at the heart of the dispute among the riparian states of Turkey, Syria, and Iraq. In the basin, the disparities among riparian countries are wide and some are already faced with constraints in meeting domestic water demand owing to physical, socio- economic and political factors. This thesis argues that the predominant factor that contributes to the conflict in the Euphrates-Tigris basin is the domestic concerns of each state rather than an overall shortage of water resources. Furthermore, this thesis demonstrates that although the rhetoric about a water war among the riparian states of the Euphrates-Tigris rivers has been popular in the last decade, it seems unlikely that the water conflict will lead to an all- out war.