Navigating International River Disputes to Avert Conflict

Authors: Zawahri, Neda A.¹; Gerlak, Andrea K.²

Source: International Negotiation, Volume 14, Number 2, 2009 , pp. 211-227(17)

Publisher: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, an imprint of Brill

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Abstract:

Building on the findings from the International Negotiation's 2000 issue on negotiations in international watercourses and the major advances in the field during the past nine years, this issue seeks to advance our knowledge about the management of international river disputes. Collectively, the articles in this issue move beyond the simple dichotomy of conflict and cooperation to suggest the possibility that both are often simultaneously present within a basin and should be studied as such. Using a diversity of methodological approaches from comparative case studies to single case studies to quantitative analysis, the articles also illustrate the growth of institutionalization within river basins and their contribution to conflict management. Moreover, the articles advance our knowledge of the role of the relative distribution of power within the basin on the resolution of water disputes and management of resources. Some scholars find power asymmetry important for treaty formation, while others suggest that issue linkages and side payments can provide weaker riparians with the means to gain from cooperation.

Keywords: INTERNATIONAL RIVERS; CONFLICT; COOPERATION; NEGOTIATING WATER DISPUTES

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/157180609X432806

Affiliations: 1: Department of Political Science, Cleveland State University, 2121 Euclid Ave. - RT 1757, Cleveland, OH 44115, USA 2: Director of Academic Development, International Studies Association, University of Arizona; Department of Political Science, 324 Social Sciences, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA

Publication date: 2009-05-01