The hydro-political dilemma in Africa water geopolitics: The case of the Nile river basin

Abstract

Water-related conflict chronology can be grouped around two broad sets of ideas: On the one hand is material-related conflict such as water stress and under-development; while on the other is management-related conflict including state-failure and lack of governance. In line with the latter form of conflict, this paper gives a specific consideration to the three types of causal factors looming with the potential for conflict over the Nile basin: Political tensions among stakeholders, lack of all-inclusive agreement on management of the Nile water, and states' unilateral actions. By identifying these causal factors, this study limits itself to focus on the initial phase of conflict resolutions, that is diagnosing sources to select some aspects of perceived reality and make them more salient in the methodological context. Based on Johan Galtung's theoretical approaches on conflict dynamics, the paper explores two areas that are lacking in current literature. It accounts for the sources of conflict over the Nile basin hinging on three variables, while mapping the nature of the on-going negotiation process around Ethiopia's Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam construction. This process is distributive in form and offers a collaborative (win-win) form of negotiations to cement the latter and to redress current predicaments.