Hydropolitical Security Analysis: The Importance of Water Weaponisation in the Securitisation Process of the Rogun Dam in Central Asia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12775/HiP.2025.010Keywords
hydropolitics, water, securitisation, weaponization, Central Asia, Rogun Dam, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, water conflictsAbstract
In the article, I will delve into the hydropolitical security conditions stemming from the weaponisation of the natural environment, specifically focusing on water access. The significance of this existential challenge arises not only from the limited global drinking water resources (comprising merely 3%), but also from the escalating use of water as a potential – albeit not always practical – means of direct or indirect coercion in international relations. To address these concerns, I will employ hydropolitics, securitisation theory, speech act analysis, and a case study approach, utilising the Tajik investment project exemplified by the Rogun Dam. The article aims to contribute value by scrutinising the securitisation process components, including speech acts, pertaining to this issue. Additionally, it will explore the role of weaponisation as a factor in enhancing the construction of an existential threat within this process.
References
Aslov, S. (2007). Statement of the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Tajikistan to the United Nations in the General Debate of the 62nd Session of the UN General Assembly in New York. Retrieved from: https://www.un.org/webcast/ga/62/2007/pdfs/tajikistan-en.pdf.
Azimov, R. (2014, August 4). Proceedings of the High Level Meeting on the Regional Riparian Issues In the Context of “Key Issues for Consideration on the Proposed Rogun Hydropower Project”. Almaty: Ministry of Economy and Finance of the Republic of Uzbekistan. Retrieved from: https://mfa.uz/en/press/news.
Buzan, B., & Wæver, O. (2003). Regions and Powers: The Structure of International Security. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Buzan, B., Wæver, O., & de Wilde, J. (1998). Security: A New Framework for Analysis. Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers.
Cascão, A.E., & Zeitoun, M. (2010). Power, Hegemony and Critical Hydropolitics. In: A. Earle, A. Jägerskog, & J. Öjendal (Eds.), Transboundary Water Management: Principles and Practice (pp. 27–42). London: Routledge.
Elhance, A.P. (1997). Conflict and Cooperation over Water in the Aral Sea Basin. Studies in Conflict and Terrorism, 20(2), 207–218. DOI: 10.1080/10576109708436034.
Folch, Ch. (2019). Hydropolitics: The Itaipu Dam, Sovereignty, and the Engineering of Modern South America. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Geneva Water Hub. (2021, March 29). Bibliography “What Is Hydropolitics? Examining the Meaning of an Evolving Field”. Université de Genève. Retrieved from: https://www.genevawaterhub.org/sites/default/files/atoms/files/2021.03.16_biblio_whatishydropolitics_en.pdf.
Grant, T.J. (1938). The Spirit of India. London: B.T. Batsford.
Human Rights Watch. (2020, March 31). Turkey/Syria: Weaponizing Water in Global Pandemic?. Retrieved from: https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/03/31/turkey/syria-weaponizing-water-global-pandemic?fbclid=IwAR0TxR7_BRNKhdSRxRykNJvaB5EoXe2OGaY.
Khamraev, S. (2013, March 21). Malye GES – Klyuch k vodnomu balansu v Tsentral’noi Azii. UN Radio. Retrieved from: https://news.un.org/ru/audio/2013/03/1017241.
King, M. D. (2015). The Weaponization of Water in Syria and Iraq. The Washington Quarterly, 38(4), 153–169. DOI: 10.1080/0163660X.2015.1125835.
King, M.D. (2023). Weaponizing Water: Water Stress and Islamic Extremist Violence in Africa and the Middle East. Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers.
Krzymowski, A. (2019). Water as a Weapon of War in the Tigris–Euphrates Basin. Przegląd Strategiczny, 12, 319–334. DOI: 10.14746/ps.2019.1.20.
Lillis, J. (2012, September 7). Uzbekistan Leader Warns of Water Wars in Central Asia. Eurasianet. Retrieved from: https://eurasianet.org/uzbekistan-leader-warns-of-water-wars-in-central-asia.
Mamut, E. (2013, April). Cooperation on Water Research and Education between the Universities from the Black Sea Region. United Nations. Retrieved from: https://www.un.org/en/chronicle/article/cooperation-water-research-and-education-between-universities-black-sea-region.
Maury, R.-G. (1994). L’hydropolitique, un nouveau chapitre de la géographie politique et économique. In: A. Bencheikh, M. Marié (Eds.). Grands appareillages hydrauliques et Sociétés Locales en Méditerranée, Actes du séminaire de Marrakech. Paris: Presses de l’école nationale de ponts et chaussées.
Meissner, R. (1998). Water as a Source of Political Conflict and Cooperation: A Comparative Analysis of the Situation in the Middle East and Southern Africa. Johannesburg: Rand Afrikaans University.
Meissner, R. (2016). Hydropolitics, Interest Groups and Governance: The Case of the Proposed Epupa Dam. New York: Springer International Publishing. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-38887-8.
Mollinga, P.P. (2008). Water, Politics and Development: Framing a Political Sociology of Water Resources Management. Water Alternatives, 1(1), 7–23.
Moore, S.M. (2018). Subnational Hydropolitics: Conflict, Cooperation, and Institution-Building in Shared River Basins. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Musioł, M. (2015). Kompleks bezpieczeństwa w regionie Azji Środkowej po 1991 roku. Warszawa: Dom Wydawniczy Elipsa.
Musioł, M. (2018). Znaczenie sekurytyzacji i sektorów bezpieczeństwa w ramach krytycznych studiów nad bezpieczeństwem. Historia i Polityka, 23, 39–51. DOI: 10.12775/HiP.2018.003.
Musioł, M. (2019). The Securitisation of Kurdish Self-Determination as A Challenge for the Sectarian Balance of Power in the Middle East. Polish Political Science Yearbook, 48(1), 115–134. DOI: 10.15804/ppsy2019107.
Nurshayeva, R. (2012, September 7). Uzbek Leader Sounds Warning over Central Asia Water Disputes. Reuters. Retrieved from: https://www.reuters.com/article/centralasia-water-idUSL6E8K793I20120907.
OSHPC Barki Tojik. (2014, June). Techno-Economic Assessment Study for Rogun Hydroelectric Construction Project. World Bank. Retrieved from: https://www.worldbank.org/content/dam/Worldbank/Event/ECA/central-asia/TEAS%20Rogun_Summary_eng.pdf.
Putz, C. (2017, July 10). Uzbekistan’s Changing Rogun Tone. The Diplomat. Retrieved from: https://thediplomat.com/2017/07/uzbekistans-changing-rogun-tone/.
Rahmon, E. (2008, September 25). Statement by the President of the Republic of Tajikistan at the General Debates of the 63rd Session of the UN General Assembly. Retrieved from: https://www.un.org/en/ga/63/generaldebate/pdf/tajikistan_en.pdf.
Rahmon, E. (2009, September 23). Statement by the President of the Republic of Tajikistan at the General Debates of the 64th Session of the UN General Assembly. Retrieved from: https://www.un.org/en/ga/64/generaldebate/TJ.shtml.
Ribeiro C.W., & Sant’Anna, F.M. (2014). Water Security and Interstate Conflict and Cooperation. Documents d’Anàlisi Geogràfica, 60(3), 573–596. DOI: 10.5565/rev/dag.150.
Rogun Hydropower Project. (n.d.). Retrieved from: https://www.webuildgroup.com/en/projects/dams-hydroelectric-plants/rogun-dam.
The Economist (2012, September 29). Dammed If They Do. [Water Wars in Central Asia]. Retrieved from: https://www.economist.com/asia/2012/09/29/dammed-if-they-do.
The World Factbook. (2023). CIA. Retrieved April 19, 2023, from: https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/.
Trottier, J. (1999, December). Hydropolitics in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Jerusalem: PASSIA – Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs. Retrieved from: http://passia.org/media/filer_public/9f/59/9f5902ed-dc9a-4792-a357-99392042547e/hydropolitics_in_the_west_bank_and_gaza_strip.pdf.
Turton, A. (2003). The Political Aspects of Institutional Developments in the Water Sector: South Africa and Its International River Basins. Pretoria: University of Pretoria.
Turton, A., & Henwood, R. (Eds.) (2002). Hydropolitics in the Developing World: A Southern African Perspective. Pretoria: African Water Issues Research Unit (AWIRU), Centre for International Political Studies, University of Pretoria.
Warner, J.F. (2008). Contested Hydrohegemony: Hydraulic Control and Security in Turkey. Water Alternatives, 1(2), 271–288.
Waterbury, J. (1979). Hydropolitics of the Nile Valley. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press.
Wilner, A. (2005). Freshwater Scarcity and Hydropolitical Conflict: Between the Science of Freshwater and the Politics of Conflict. Journal of Military and Strategic Studies, 8(1). Retrieved from: https://ciaotest.cc.columbia.edu/olj/jmss/jmss_2005/v8n1/jmss_v8n1h.pdf.
World Bank. (2023). Central Asia Energy-Water Development Program. 2017, from: https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/979261502174391564/pdf/117997-Central-asia-energy-water-development-program-WP-PUBLIC.pdf.
Water Yearbook: Central Asia and around the Globe. (2020). CAWATERinfo. Retrieved from: http://www.cawater-info.net/yearbook/2020/02_yearbook2020_en.htm.
UN News. (2012, September 28). In UN Speech, Uzbek Foreign Minister Stresses Water Conservation as Key to Regional Security. Retrieved from: https://news.un.org/en/story/2012/09/422022.
Zarifi, H. (2012, September 29). At Debate, Tajik Foreign Minister Voices Need for UN Reform, Engagement in Afghanistan. Retrieved from: https://news.un.org/en/story/2012/09/422122.
Zapora Rogun. (2023). [Image attached]. Retrieved April 20, 2023, from: https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zapora_Rogun#/media/Plik:Rogun_Dam.jpg.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Marek Musioł
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Nicolaus Copernicus University fully respects the right to privacy and protection of personal data of all authors. The authors’ personal data is not used for commercial and/or marketing purposes.Stats
Number of views and downloads: 136
Number of citations: 0
