Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Article Review Mehtab Alam
Article Review Mehtab Alam
Subject: Geopolitics
Date: 23-07-2022
Assignment Topic:
Article Review
Geopolitics of water in the Middle East
I. Introduction
In this article, written by Jan Selby, the author discussed the role of water resources in the politics
of Middle East. The author argues that on one hand the naturalistic school of thought consider
water to be a catalyst of war in next century. While on the other hand, liberal school of thought
see water as source of cooperation and solving conflict. He goes on to refute both these claim
and present his own thesis which states water in Middle East should be seen in terms of political
economy and while water is not of a significance important to start a war, the water scarcities
may lead of inter state conflicts.
this does not translate into water being of growing geopolitical significance. Whatever the USA’s
real motives were for invading Iraq; we can rest assured that this was not in order to control the
Tigris and Euphrates rivers.
1- Author successfully explained the water crisis that is faced by Middle East. Most experts
believe that the water crisis can be solved by controlling population but the roots of water
crisis are not found in increase of population rather the inefficiency of governance. the failure
to make best use of modern technologies in the production, storage, conveyance,
conservation, treatment, use and reuse of water; the failure to treat water as an economic
commodity, and to put realistic prices on it that reflects its economic value; the failure to
allocate water appropriately between different users; and the failure of state institutions to
manage water properly through appropriate regulatory and tariff structures, through
systematic resource monitoring, and through rational, rather than politicized, decision
making. Technological, economic and institutional inefficiencies: these, for most
international finance and development organizations, and international water experts, are
the essential causes of water problems.
2- Water is of not significance while discussing the economic growth of Middle East. Water was
considered a crucial part of any economy in past but in contemporary world and in Middle
East, that is not the case. This can be easily illustrated by comparing water to oil. Oil provided
the state-led development of the Gulf economies; the construction of impressive and tax-free
health, education, welfare and infrastructure systems; the consolidation of authoritarian and
militarized regimes with weak social bases yet unrivalled legitimacy; remittances, aid and
investment to the region’s non-oil states; and investment in global markets and the
petrodollar-led financialization of contemporary capitalism.
3- Water war thesis is simply misplaced. There is no evidence that states that water led to
international wars in past. This may not be so true of local politics of the region.
V. Suggestions
The claims that water can be source of international conflict and west should also cease the
water resources of Middle East is of selfish nature. There should be a comparative analysis of
role of water in politics and lives of Middle Eastern people. The article should have illustrated
that with examples rather than just focusing on international level.