Good water neighbours: Wanja Kaufmann Direct and indirect effects of community engagement on Uppsala University transboundary water cooperation in the Jordan river basin May 2021

Uppsala University Department of Theology International Humanitarian Action, Master Thesis

Good Water Neighbours

Direct and indirect effects of community engagement on

transboundary water cooperation in the Jordan river basin

Author: Wanja Kaufmann Supervisor: Trond Ove Tøllefsen Uppsala, Sweden May 14, 2021 Word count: 20’265

This thesis is submitted for obtaining the Master’s Degree in International Humanitarian Action. By submitting the thesis, the author certifies that the text is from her hand, does not include the work of someone else unless clearly indicated, and that the thesis has been produced in accordance with proper academic practices.

1 Good water neighbours: Wanja Kaufmann Direct and indirect effects of community engagement on Uppsala University transboundary water cooperation in the Jordan river basin May 2021

ABSTRACT The is a region where water resources are both scarce and disputed. Over a long period of time, the shared water resources in the region have constituted a source of conflict. Meanwhile, these shared resources and the challenges connected to them can also function as a basis for mutual understanding and trust-building, potentially fostering cooperation and sustainable peacebuilding. This thesis explores the potential of different kinds of cooperation efforts on shared water resources promoting such a development, by investigating the relationship between bottom-up local transboundary water cooperation efforts and top-down transboundary cooperation on a national level. The research question, “What direct and likely indirect impacts has the Good Water Neighbours programme had on the adherence to the Article 6 of the -Jordan peace treaty from 1994?”, is examined through a single case study, in which a Multi-Track Water Diplomacy Framework (MTWD) analysis is conducted in order to map and understand key factors affecting water cooperation in the specific transboundary water context in which the Good Water Neighbours programme operates. The indirect impacts are examined through adding an intermediate variable, namely national transboundary water cooperation efforts between Israel and Jordan, operationalised through the regional NGO master plan for sustainable development in the Jordan Valley (released in 2015). The study finds support for the hypothesis that cooperation on the local-international level will lead to trust-building and increased public pressure, creating incentives for national-international cooperation, and thereby increased adherence to the peace treaty. It can however neither reject nor confirm the hypothesis that local-international cooperation will lead to better designed projects, increased acceptance and accountability, in turn increasing the adherence to the peace treaty. The study further concludes that national-international cooperation depends on a sensitive interplay between economy and politics, and that successful transboundary water cooperation requires both bottom-up and top-down engagement.

Keywords: Jordan river, Jordan, Israel, transboundary water cooperation, community engagement

2 Good water neighbours: Wanja Kaufmann Direct and indirect effects of community engagement on Uppsala University transboundary water cooperation in the Jordan river basin May 2021

PREFACE

I would like to express my sincere and deep appreciation to my supervisor Trond Ove Tøllefsen for being a truly professional, devoted, motivating and very constructive sounding board throughout my thesis writing. With his critical and constructive questions, he’s always made sure to push my thinking further and engage with me in developing discussions which have led me in the right directions. This has been of special importance during th