Decolonising Water Diplomacy and Conflict Transformation: From Security-Peace to Equity-Identity
Publisher: Water Policy
Author(s): Mohsen Nagheeby and Jaime Amezaga
Date: 2023
Topics: Conflict Prevention, Governance, Livelihoods, Renewable Resources
Countries: Afghanistan, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Malaysia, Pakistan, Palestine, Russian Federation, Singapore, Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic, Turkey, Ukraine
Water diplomacy and conflict transformation are dominated by an interest-based paradigm, where attention is given solely to achieving security and peace. The authors intend to critically challenge this paradigm – which is mainly dominated by the views of the Global North – by emphasising two other important but often overlooked elements: equity and identity. The authors argue that diplomacy within the contemporary paradigm is easily manipulated by the broader security and peace interests of foreign powers in a manifestation of global and regional geopolitical rivalry. The authors conclude that pro-security-peace water diplomacy is an inefficacious remedy, and posit instead that equity and particularly identity should be placed at the heart of water diplomacy and conflict transformation. While introducing a new alternative definition, we call for a paradigm shift, from security-peace to equity-identity orientation, to give space for the voice of the Global South in the analysis of hydropolitical relations. This approach affords additional insights into and explanations for hydropolitical patterns, and helps us to define new strategies for decolonising water diplomacy in practice.