Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking
While energy security and the control of oil have long been determining factors for geopolitical conflict in the Middle East, the region’s geopolitics have also, in important ways, been shaped by issues around access to water. Whether along the region’s transnational rivers, such as the Nile, Tigris, and Euphrates, or in key coastal zones—especially the Arabian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz—the control, use, distribution, and transportation of water have been key areas of strategic concern for Middle Eastern states. Water politics, however, has tended to be separated from wider geopolitical dynamics and abstracted from other security concerns. In important ways, water security both combines with and informs regional conflicts, and is also closely linked to energy and food security. Moreover, the effects of climate change are making such entanglements ever more involved, leading to fierce feedback loops that connect water, food, and energy in detrimental ways.
Water Politics in the Tigris-Euphrates Basin
2023 Achref Chibani
Arab Center, Washington, DC
