Double-Edged Hydropolitics on the Nile - Center for Security Studies ...

Summary
T
his thesis focuses on domestic processes of water policy making in Egypt
and Ethiopia in the context of transboundary conflict and cooperation
in the Nile Basin.
In the light of increasing global water demands, transboundary rivers
are often portrayed both as a source of inter-state conflict and as a catalyst
for international cooperation. Analysts commonly explain the conflictive
or cooperative behavior of riparian states in shared basins by referring
to characteristics of the international system (e.g., the hydrological connected-ness,
the overall level of water scarcity, the geo-political context, or
the level of economic integration in a basin) and attributes of the riparian
states (e.g., their geographical position along the course of the river,
their economic and military power, existing and planned domestic water
uses). Hence, most studies on transboundary river basins at least implicitly
apply an analytical perspective rooted in ‘International Relations’ theories
and tend to view riparian states as unitary rational actors pursuing specific
‘national interests’.
Such a ‘systemic’ perspective contrasts with the observation that, in
many shared river basins, the course of transboundary conflict and cooperation
is significantly influenced by domestic constraints to the ratification
or implementation of transboundary agreements. The inter-relations between
domestic policy processes and transboundary cooperation have so far
largely been approached in a qualitative and anecdotal manner. The present
thesis addresses this gap in the transboundary river literature by applying
a systematic perspective on domestic water sector actors, institutions, and
processes in two Nile Basin countries (Egypt and Ethiopia).
The analytical focus on domestic actors and institutions in transboundary
river basins relates to recent developments both at the theoretical and
practical level. New theoretical approaches in political sciences integrate
systemic (i.e., International Relations) and domestic (Public Policy Analysis)
explanations of the foreign policy behavior of states. At the same time, prac-
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