Environmental cooperation as a platform to overcome tensions: the case of water in Central Asia and Afghanistan

Abstract

This thesis aims to show the potential of environmental cooperation as a pathway to regional cooperation between rival states. Environmental issues are rarely explored as a platform for states to find common ground on wider questions but the fundamental features of environmental problems can lead to greater trust and a shared vision of resources which may enable closer ties and integration of states within a region. This thesis postulates that environmental issues have four features which make them good candidates to increase overall cooperation: the fact that environmental resources are Common-Pool Resources, the need for technical expertise in environmental management, awareness of climate change, and the vulnerability of powerful states to environmental insecurity. To display the reasons for this cooperation potential, this thesis conducts SWOT analyses on four cases of water management projects in Central Asia and Afghanistan. These cases ultimately show that environmental issues do have high potential to foster cooperation between states because they help create common frameworks and visions which increase cohesion and because they appeal to foreign investors and partners.