The Politics of Water

Final Reflections on Water and Politics.  As I have written these blogs, I have realised how water politics is beyond transboundary river conflicts. I see how the ideas of Politics and Water exist because water IS political: water determines development, it is used tactically, it enables power and diminishes it simultaneously. The presence of water can determine the existence of a country and provides gateways for political opportunities and clashes. Its mere existence causes conflict, and the lack of its existence causes conflict. Prior to writing this blog, I never considered the everyday politics of water - it never struck me to see anything but global events, government interventions and military conflict as the politics of water. Therefore, my blog started out as quite broad and general. During my research, I slowly understood the everyday, local politics of water, from a farmer’s fear for their livelihood or a mother’s strenuous journey to get undrinkable water for her child...

Israel in Africa: Irony, neo-colonialism or just a helping hand?   Israel in Africa:  While many African countries have voted ‘ in favour of pro-Palestinian resolutions at the United Nations General Assembly ’, Israel is known to be widening its presence in Africa, namely Kenya and South Africa. One may wonder if this is a form of neo-colonialism and if history is repeating itself, albeit in a more modern way.  Israel is world-renowned for its technological advancements in water development and other sustainability projects, to the point where the title ‘ superpower of sustainability ’ is given to the country. Israel offers consultations regarding water access, ‘ deep irrigation, desalination, leak detection, drawing water from the air and wastewater recycling .’ For example, Energiya Global , an Israeli company, plans to finance $2 billion worth of projects  across Africa, many of which are concerned with water . A campaign by Israel for South Africa, promotin...

Blog 4: Unstable Futures: The Curse of the River Nile  Political History of the Nile:  The River Nile played a critical and strategic role in Egypt. It encouraged the blossoming of civilisations during the Pharaonic period, allowing the country to command great political power as ‘the part of Africa that receives its source of life ( Tayia et al, 2021: 299) .’ A short and concise history of Nile politics. The Nile politics we know today is very much influenced by the happenings of 19th and 20th-century European imperialism. Under British colonial rule, the River Nile was protected by the empire ( Swain, 2011: 690 ), which was also involved in the distribution of its waters, too. In 1959, it was decided that the downstream nations of Egypt and Sudan would get most of the Nile’s water, with ‘ 48 billion cubic metres going to Egypt and 4 billion to Sudan .’ This agreement also prevented Ethiopia from building dams along the river. The political obsession with the Nile continued ...