Leiden University Student Repository

Van Weenen, Esmee (2020)

The Politics of Transboundary Water Resources. A Case Study of EU Policy Regarding Transboundary Water Interaction in the Occupied Palestinian Territories

Master thesis | Middle Eastern Studies (MA)

The aim of this thesis is to assess the role of the European Union in transboundary water relations between Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) since the Oslo II Accords, and in particular the extent to which EU policy is reinforcing Israel's position regarding the shared water resources. The research shows that EU policy contributes towards the further consolidation of Israeli control over Palestinian resources, an important aspect of the occupation which undermines the possibility of the emergence of a viable Palestinian state. The research is based on Marxist views of political economy, arguing that power relations play a determining role in the way in which transboundary water interaction takes place between Israel and the OPT. Using the framework of hydro-hegemony and Steven Lukes three dimensions of power, the analysis shows that there is a discrepancy between EU rhetoric and practice which results in the EU sustaining Israel's hydro-hegemony.

Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Hydro-hegemony

European Union

Transboundary water resources

Author

Van Weenen, Esmee

Faculty

Faculty of Humanities

Supervisors

Englert, Sai

ECTS Credits

20

Language

en