Turkey's Water Policy and its Claims on Regional Policy, Peace and International Security - A Legal Study

Abstract

Water is a sensitive issue in the Middle East, where conflicts over water resources impact relations between countries. The water challenges between Turkey, Iraq, and Syria require a comprehensive approach focused on cooperation and understanding. Turkey, Iraq, and Syria share several major rivers, most notably the Tigris and Euphrates. Turkey is moving towards implementing large-scale projects such as the GAP project.

This study aims to draw attention to and contribute to raising awareness of the magnitude of the challenges posed by climate change and its negative impacts on international peace and security, which lead to threats to international cooperation at both the national and international levels, as well as threats to regional security. The research problem lies in the fact that Turkish water policy poses a real threat to international peace and security due to the resulting crises and conflicts at all levels. The decline in water, food, and energy resources caused by climate change will destroy livelihoods and contribute to a series of destabilizing trends in the region, such as internal violence, civil conflicts, and political instability, which weakens the power and central authority of the state. The study concluded by presenting a set of proposals, the most important of which were: the need for cooperation in managing transboundary waters to prevent an increase in conflicts that may arise due to these policies and climate change, and the need to rethink at the national, regional and international levels the effective methods and mechanisms to reduce the cases and sources of climate degradation and its effects on international peace and security.