Environment, security, and international relations: Theory and practice of conflict and cooperation over international water resources

This dissertation, using a method of "structured, focused comparison," investigates the phenomenon of conflict and cooperation over international water resources. The three cases of water conflicts chosen for this study---from three different river basins: the Euphrates, the Nile, and the Danube---have in common that they all have serious security implications originating from the allocation of water resources. The aim of this study is to simply extend the Neo-Realist research program a little further, taking into consideration relationships between symbolic and material elements in the conflict, between conflict and cooperation , and among different forms of cooperation. Conflict and cooperation are seen as two distinct phenomena of the same coin---security---focusing primarily on the latter.; Cooperation, a concept less analytically understood in the literature than conflict, is conceptualized in terms of its forms (voluntary , induced, and imposed) and in terms of its intensity. The phenomenon of cooperation over international rivers is analyzed by using a three-fold set of independent variables: (1) type of conflict (strategic versus symbolic); (2) structural variables that include both (a) regional power distribution between disputants and regional countries such as differences in military capabilities, economic performance, and relative geopolitical position, and, (b) issue power distribution (such as hydro-geographical position, distribution of water resources, acceptance of international norms, rules, and institutions); and, (3) linkage variables that include a number of tactics to tie a simple water dispute to other issue(s). Finally, the involvement of international organization is considered as an intervening variable.; The evidence presented in this study suggests that the divergent perceptions of disputants shape the tone of an environmental conflict which can oscillate between attachment for symbolic values and reliance on strategic interests. The role of symbolic elements is especially dominant in long-lasting, intractable, and recurrent conflicts. Along these lines, of all three case studies, the Hungarian-Slovak dispute is the most illuminating.; Of all three independent variables, the type of conflict--- strategic or symbolic---has a tremendously important influence on the form of cooperation. The findings from the Hungarian-Slovak conflict suggest that in the aftermath of a highly symbolic conflict, a voluntary mode of cooperation rarely emerges. On the other hand, in a conflict containing primarily strategic (tangible) elements, a voluntary mode of cooperation is more likely to emerge as the direct outcome. This is shown in the case of the Turkish-Syrian relations in the area of water resources.; The multiplicity of linkages---a concept familiar to both Neo-Realism and Complex Interdependence approaches---appears to be a common feature in pursuit of cooperation. The linkage tactics are used equally by both the stronger and weaker states. The most important finding of this research is that the number of linkages does not matter (or, at least not to the degree as generally expected); rather, it is the credibility of applied linkages, especially under the condition of high interdependence. This implies that credible linkages open the door for multi-bargaining process. In such a process, as it was shown in the case of the dispute between Syria and Turkey, a weak side can benefit.