WATER AS AN ESSENTIAL ELEMENT IN RELATIONS BETWEEN TURKEY, SYRIA AND IRAQ (1960S–1980S)

Abstract

This article analyzes the role of water resources in the political and economic relations of Tur-key, Syria, and Iraq from the 1960s to the late 1980s. The author examines the relationship between the development of hydrotechnical projects in the riparian countries and the evolution of regional hydrodiplomacy and the formation of conflicts around the transboundary Tigris and Euphrates rivers. It is noted that the period from the 1960s to the 1980s marked a transformation in water relations between Turkey, Syria, and Iraq. Over these three decades, water transformed from a natural resource into an instrument of geopolitical influence and national security. Attempts to establish an institu-tional structure such as the JTC in the 1960s, early 1970s, and in the 1980s ultimately failed to pro-duce the desired effect, as the riparian countries were unable to agree on the principles for distributing the basin's water resources. The lack of an institutional structure, uneven water distribution, and the politicization of the issue made the Tigris-Euphrates basin one of the tensest areas in the Middle East. Another significant factor was the intertwining of the water agenda with security and regional devel-opment issues. Turkey, with its geographical and technological advantages, used hydropower projects not only for economic growth but also to exert political pressure on downstream countries. Syria, in turn, sought to use the “Kurdish” card against Turkey.