THE FALSE PROMISE OF COOPERATION IN THE JORDAN RIVER: STATE POLICIES AND DETERMINANTS

Abstract

The study examines the false promise of cooperation in the Jordan River basin through the prism of state policies and determinants. The study is underpinned by the significance of pivotal riparian states. Based on their preeminence in determining the course of cooperation, the study considers Israel, Jordan and Palestine as pivotal riparian states. In terms of research methodology, qualitative approach was used. The study identified that domestic politics, regional dynamics and international water regimes are major determinant factors making cooperation to be a fantasy. Israel’s doctrine of exceptionalism both in the sense of statehood and government type and the reciprocated denial of co-basin states in this regard are domestic political factors that impede the course cooperative events. Israel’s geopolitical calculations via territorial expansion alongside of the Jordan River affect the cooperative milieu. The mere existence of water regimes either in the form of legal agreements or institutional attempts, does not bring effective cooperation. The finding of study shows that, domestic politics, regional dynamics and international water regimes are indeed determinant factors for the cooperative and conflictive nature of water sharing in the basin. The level of their impact however is neither equal nor constant. Importantly, these three factors affect and condition one another.