THE ROLE OF WATER DIPLOMACY AS A CHANGING CONCEPT IN REGIONAL COOPERATION: A THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

Abstract

Today, there is a disagreement among the actors since the demand for water resources has gained more momentum. Sharing water resources, regional actors want to have control over water which has a wide range of functions either electricity generation or agricultural activities. Therefore, the willingness of actors to actively use and manage water fuels disagreements at the regional level and hinders cooperation. Herein water diplomacy tools are used to prevent the occurrence of disputes related to water resources or to transform the existing conflict into regional cooperation. Water diplomacy promotes the establishment of trust bonds between actors, as well as constitutes the step of cooperation by encouraging the start of problems between actors through dialogue. In this study, the question of what the role of water diplomacy and tools in is establishing and maintaining the cooperation structure in regional water disputes constitutes the basis to be. At the regional level in the conflict over water resources, the role of water diplomacy in the development and sustainability of cooperation is discussed in this study.