The Balance of Justice: The Water Right and Large Dams in the Tigris and Euphrates Basin

This research investigates the political dimensions related to the implementation of top-down planning strategies for the development of extensive hydraulic infrastructure within the Euphrates-Tigris basin. Considering an increasingly severe water issues and a deficiency of collaboration among nations sharing transboundary river systems, the presence of dams and reservoirs has become a subject of contention due to conflicting interests in resource depletion and utilization. This analysis draws upon the theoretical perspectives of post-structuralism in the field of human geography, particularly focusing on the politics of scale, as well as the existing body of literature on megaprojects. The key argument put out in this study is that hydraulic infrastructures play a significant role, both physically and rhetorically, in shaping and sustaining waterscapes at various sizes, hence supporting wider political agendas. Utilizing ethnographic fieldwork as a primary source, this paper examines the narratives propagated via both non-state and state actors in relation to the construction of supplementary dams, with a specific emphasis on the autonomous territory of Iraqi Kurdistan. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) perceives hydraulic infrastructure as a means of ensuring security and promoting wealth, aligning with the broader narrative of Kurdish fate. However, transnational civil society organizations have united to oppose the adverse consequences of large-scale projects and have campaigned for a shared framework in the Mesopotamian region. The hydraulic infrastructure, in every scenario, serves as a structural foundation for political endeavours aimed at securing the acknowledgment of rights and establishing the suitable extent of government. In addition, the implementation of bottom-up defence strategies is complemented by the advocacy for a participatory and inclusive attitude towards the shared water resources management. From this particular standpoint, the spatial politics of large-scale projects overlap with issues pertaining to identity, fairness, and sustainability. © S.S. Asaad, 2024.