The problem of water resources and politics are inextricably linked in the Arab world. While oil, wars, border disputes, terrorism and political rivalries have dominated the discourse on the modern Middle East, water has gradually become recognised as a looming issue which may dwarf all the other crises of region. The great issues facing the Arab world - its relations with Israel and Turkey; the ongoing Palestine conflict; the growing dominance of Iran; the instabilities of Lebanon and its precarious relations with Syria; the divergent interests of Egypt and Sudan; various on-going border disputes; and, a whole range of further political problems are all becoming increasingly infected by a general awareness of the importance of control over water resources.
This book, which charts the history of the water issue in the Middle East, at the same time proposes an overarching methodology by which the states of the Middle East can safeguard their interests and sovereignties while at the same time addressing the social, economic and development needs which at the moment are hostage to the difficulties presented by 'the Water Problem'.