The Political Economy of Conflict Over Water Rights in The Jordan Valley From 1890 to Present
Wishart, David Merkle
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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/70761
Description
Title
The Political Economy of Conflict Over Water Rights in The Jordan Valley From 1890 to Present
Author(s)
Wishart, David Merkle
Issue Date
1985
Department of Study
Economics
Discipline
Economics
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
Economics, History
Abstract
This thesis examines the relationship between conflict over water rights and economic development in the Jordan Valley from 1890 to present. The thesis explores the possibility that economic development in the Jordan Valley could work to reduce conflict over water rights by reducing scarcity and creating new opportunities for exchange between water users.
In Chapter One, the author identifies reasons for the choice of the Jordan Valley as a region to study conflict over water rights during economic development.
Chapter Two develops a theory of water rights conflict that relates the level of conflict to the rate at which more efficient water use methods are introduced and the rate at which the water supply can be increased. The theory points to inflexibility in the institutions governing water rights to changes in the demand for water between users as a contributing factor to water rights conflict.
In Chapter Three through Six the theory is used to organize a descriptive analysis of conflict over water rights in the Jordan Valley from 1890 to present. Chapter Three treats the period from 1890 to 1948. An increasing level of conflict over water rights is noted during this period due partly to rapid immigration by Jews and Arabs to Palestine. Chapter Four considers internationalization of Jordan Valley water conflict which is noted after 1948. Plans for cooperative development of the Jordan Valley watershed put forward between 1948 and 1955 are examined as are the Johnston negotiations over water rights in the Jordan Valley which ran from 1953 through 1955. Chapters Five and Six present the parallel processes of water resource development in Israel and Jordan and their relation to conflict over water rights from 1956 through the 1970s. Chapter Six gives special emphasis to the convergence of water management systems and needs between Israel and Jordan during the 1970s. Such convergence results from economic development and effectively reduced conflict over water rights between these states in the post-1967 period.
The seventh chapter concludes the thesis with an evaluation of current prospects for cooperation between Israel and Jordan in water management.
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