HYDROPOLITICS OF THE TIGRIS-EUPHRATES RIVER BASIN - THE LIMITS OF TURKEY'S "ZERO PROBLEMS" APPROACH

After decades of confrontation and hostile relations between Turkey, Syria and Iraq, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced a new doctrine labelled "zero problems with neighbours". Under this novel approach, Turkey aims to resolve all disputes and conflicts that have hindered its mutual relations with neighbouring countries. While for some areas of contention between Turkey and its neighbours the prospects for achieving this objective are fairly optimistic, bilateral relations with the two abovementioned countries are marked by complex and often deep-rooted problematic issues that seem to be very hard to overcome. One of such specific issues, analysed in this article, is the hydropolitics of the Tigris-Euphrates river basin. This transboundary water system has been the source of tension for decades, and the issue of distribution and management of water resources between the three riparian countries is still not resolved. Although current development in Syria and Iraq has drawn attention away from disputes over water in this region, there is still a big potential for conflict in the foreseeable future. While Turkey continues the construction of its regional development project (the Southeastern Anatolia Project), which focuses mainly on utilisation of water from Euphrates and Tigris, Syria and Iraq regard this project as a threat to their national security. In this context, the main assumption in this article is that the hydropolitics represent a potential limit for the amicable " zero problems" approach in Turkish foreign policy.