1st Edition
River Basins and International Relations Cooperation, Conflict and Sub-Regional Approaches
This book argues that river basins represent a particular structural setting in international relations with the potential for generating a dynamic of cooperation among the involved countries.
The volume applies the concept of regional cooperation to international river basins to highlight their relevance as a particular space in international relations, emphasizing both the inter-connectivity and transnationalism of international river basins. It addresses the challenges related to resource distribution between up- and down-stream countries, showcasing a variety of examples of cooperation and conflictual relations within various international river basins. Case studies are drawn from across the globe and include the Mekong, the Indus, the Euphrates-Tigris and the Danube international river basins. Each chapter outlines the different aspects which support or undermine cooperation in each case, taking into consideration key areas surrounding resource sharing, national development, environmental considerations and national security.
This book will be of great interest to students and scholars with an interest in international river basins, regional cooperation, water resource competition, international relations and environmental politics.
1 International river basins as a source for cooperation or conflict
Christian Ploberger
PART I Theoretical considerations
2 Identifying international river basins as a particular space in international politics and as a source of sub-regional cooperation
Christian Ploberger
3 International river basins as a focal point for regional cooperation
Christian Ploberger
4 Economic perspectives of cooperation in international river basins
Walter Scherrer
PART II The prospect for sub-regional cooperation exist
5 Positive embeddedness: the EUSDR
Christian Ploberger
6 The Mekong regional integration: what roles does the Mekong River Commission play?
Serey Sok, Sopheak Meas, and Pheakdey Nguonphan
PART III International river basins facing a more conflictual setting
7 Rethinking Indus Water Treaty between India and Pakistan: people, politics, and policy
Debasish Nandy
8 India-Pakistan realpolitik and resource sharing: muddying the waters?
S. Utham Kumar Jamadhagni
9 Euphrates-Tigris River basin: contentious hydro-politics in the Middle East
Eyüp Ersoy
Biography
Christian Ploberger is an academic researcher, publisher and co-editor of the Journal of Chakrabong Bhuvanarth International Institute of Interdisciplinary Studies (JCBIS). He held various academic positions in the past, with the most recent one as Lecturer at Rajamangala University of Technology Tawan-ok, Bangkok, Thailand. He is the author of Political Economic Perspectives of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (Routledge, 2019) and co-editor of China’s Belt and Road Initiative: The Impact on Sub-regional Southeast Asia (Routledge, 2021).
