Suchergebnisse

The focus of this thesis is on foreign-policy decision-making in circumstances of water scarcity. In particular the study focuses on how the issue of water has been treated in the interstate negotiations within the Peace Process between Israel and the Palestinians and Israel and Jordan. It also analyses the implementation phase. The aim of this study is to analyse why and under what conditions co-operation has taken place and how it has functioned in the water sector. As such the study moves beyond the vast quantitative material which states that transboundary water co-operation does occur by exploring why co-operation has occurred in the Jordan River Basin. Based on an overall actor-structure framework the factors deemed to be important in affecting the process and outcome are identified. The development of a shared system of norms, rules and procedures for how to manage the water resource are seen as a vital explanatory variable for the water co-operation in the Jordan River Basin. It is concluded that the water negotiations, both between Israel and the Palestinians and between Israel and Jordan have been intimately linked to the other issues on the negotiation table. Further-more, it is concluded that water has been sub-ordinate to other politically more salient questions in the negotiations. The thesis contributes to the body of research on water in the Jordan River Basin in three ways. First, it provides and empirical overview of the implementation process of the water elements of the Peace Treaty between Israel and Jordan and of article 40 (which deals with water) of the Interim Agreement between Israel and the Palestinians. Second, the thesis has analysed the role that scientific experts play in the water negotiations. Expert advice has been used in the negotiations and can be said to be important in that it reduces uncertainty for decision-makers as well as provide tools with which to legitimise political decisions. Third, the thesis contributes to the understanding of why the parties in the Jordan River Basin have chosen co-operative strategies rather than resorting to conflictual behaviour to handle their shared waters. Of key importance in this respect is that shared water is an interdependent resource. Thus mutual dependence on a shared resource stimulates and reinforces the need for cooperation.

This comprehensive Handbook tackles the increasingly urgent problem of the impact of climate change on conflict and human security. It analyses the ways in which scarcity of resources leads to food, water and health insecurities, resulting in population migration. Featuring contributions from leading international scholars, chapters cover how these contribute globally to societal insecurity and violent conflict in a growing number of regions.

Part I. Global contemporary security trends and the Middle East. Perspectives on Middle East security: An introduction / Anders Jägerskog, Michael Schulz, and Ashok Swain ; Shifts in the global political and economic landscape and consequences for the Middle East and North Africa / Alexander Atarodi ; Conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa: An attempt at reframing / Joost R. Hiltermann ; US Middle East policy / Stephen Zunes ; External intervention in the Gulf / Matteo Legrenzi and Fred H. Lawson ; The security implications of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict / Michael Schulz ; The future of Iraq's security / Ibrahim Al-Marashi ; Security and Syria: from "the security state" to the source of multiple insecurities / Philippe Droz-Vincent ; Humanitarian aid to a Middle East in crisis / Roger Hearn ; Peacebuilding in the Middle East / Karin Aggestam and Lisa Strömbom -- Part II. Energy, resource issues and climate change as security issues in the Middle East. The water-energy-food nexus in the MENA region: Securities of the future / Martin Keulertz and Tony Allan ; The multidimensional aspect of water security in the Middle East and North Africa / Neda A. Zawahri ; Food security in the Middle East / Hussein Amery ; Climate-related security risks in the Middle East / Dan Smith and Florian Krampe ; The Nile and the Middle East: Interlinkages between two regional security complexes and their hydropolitical dynamics / Ana Elisa Cascão, Rawia Tawfik and Mark Zeitoun ; Water and security in the Middle East: Opportunities and challenges for water diplomacy / Martina Klimes and Elizabeth A. Yaari -- Part III. Migration, political economy, democratization, identity and gender issues and security in the Middle East. Large-scale population migration and insecurity in the Middle East / Ashok Swain and Jonathan Hall ; Security and political economy in the Middle East / Raymond Hinnebusch ; The governance deficit in the Middle East region / Michelle Pace ; The halting process of democratization in the Arab world: Current challenges and future prospects / Hamdy A. Hassan and Hassanein T. Ali ; Democracy and security in the post-Arab Spring Middle East / Rex Brynen ; Sunni-shiʹi relations and the Iran-Saudi security dynamic / Simon Mabon and Nic Coombs ; Muslim women and (in)security: A Palestinian paradox / Maria Holt.

The management of water resources across boundaries, whether sub-national or international, is one of the most difficult challenges facing water managers today. The upstream exploitation or diversion of groundwater or rivers can have devastating consequences for those living downstream, and transboundary rivers can provide a source of conflict between nations or states, particularly where water resources are scarce. Similarly, water based-pollution can spread across borders and create disputes and a need for sound governance. This book is the first to bring together in a concise and accessible.