Strategic factors in developing effective transboundary water resources regimes: The case of Tigris-Euphrates basin

In this dissertation I examine the failure to find a negotiated solution for managing transboundary water resources among Turkey, Syria and Iraq, and propose an integrated approach with a focus on human security and redefined national interest. This approach incorporates knowledge about critical ecological/political thresholds with the help of rich literature on international regime formation and preservation.;Even though we observe a steady move toward regimes shaped by the influence knowledge in recent years, issues stemming from natural resources that lie across borders have been notoriously resistant to a negotiated and sustainable settlement mainly because of the sovereignty principle. Transboundary river basin management is one issue area especially hard to address for this reason. However, the uniqueness of the geographical, climatological, demographic and political setting of each river basin should not be an excuse condition for persistent chaos.;The dispute over the waters of Tigris-Euphrates has overshadowed diplomatic relations among Turkey, Syria and Iraq during a good portion of the last century. Lack of international legal principles to deal with this issue led the three neighbors to a stalemate for at least three decades. National interests defined mainly by strategic overtones of regional politics dominated the failed negotiation initiatives. Recent political developments along these rivers, however, may provide a good opportunity to take up the case again. By using regime analysis together with integrative bargaining techniques it is possible to redefine the national interests of the three riparians.;In this dissertation a controlled comparison technique is utilized to inquire about the possibilities of forming a platform of common understanding. A set of river basins is selected across different geographical regions with some degree of cooperation in place in order to illustrate that the knowledge-based school in regime formation theory has better explanatory power. The findings of this qualitative test is then utilized to approve or disprove the hypothetical assumption that there has been a gradual shift in world politics from power - interest dichotomy toward a new understanding shaped by increasing knowledge about nature. My argument is that the transforming effect of knowledge, which takes root through the channels of open society, together with integrative bargaining and active involvement and support of international community can soften jurisdictional controversies imposed by the principle of sovereignty in the Tigris-Euphrates basin.