Event Host: Middle East Studies Center, Mershon Center
Short Description: Ayşegül Kibaroglu, world expert on Turkish water issues, will speak on Thursday, April 21 at 6 p.m. at the Mershon Center for International Security Studies.
Ayşegül Kibaroglu, world expert on Turkish water policy issues and the history of cooperation across political boundaries in the Euphrates-Tigris region, will speak on Thursday, April 21, 6 p.m., room 120, Mershon Center for International Security Studies, 1501 Neil Avenue. Kibaroglu is professor of political science and international relations at MEF University Istanbul, Turkey, and current visiting professor, Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, University of Texas at Austin.
Since the second half of the 20th century, transboundary water governance in the Euphrates-Tigris river system has evolved with competitive power dynamics and cooperative institutional development. Kibaroglu’s lecture will focus on the evolution of transboundary water politics in the basin over a series of consecutive periods. Overarching political problems, namely, the Syrian civil war and the deterioration of bilateral political relations between any pair of the riparians constitute to disable political background for the implementation of good water governance across the borders of Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey.
Kibaroglu has published extensively on the politics of water resources with an emphasis on the Euphrates Tigris river basin including a book volume entitled Building a Regime for the Waters of the Euphrates-Tigris River Basin (Kluwer Law International, 2002). She is the founding member of the Euphrates Tigris Initiative for Cooperation (ETIC), a multi-disciplinary group of academics and professionals from Iraq, Syria and Turkey conducting projects to share knowledge and experience relevant to water resource management and regional cooperation.
This event is free and open to the Public. RSVP requested. Sponsors include: The Ohio State University Global Water Initiative, Mershon Center for International Security Studies, Middle East Studies Center, John Glenn College of Public Affairs and Syrian Student Union.
This lecture is in conjunction with the Euphrates Tigris Water Issues Workshop, Friday, April 22.
Workshop Schedule
Mershon Center for International Security Studies, room 120
Register for the event
9-9:15 a.m.
Welcome Remarks (TBD)
9:15-10:20 a.m.
Origin, Mission and Activities of Euphrates-Tigris Initiative for Cooperation (ETIC)
- Faisal Rifai, Executive Director of the Euphrates-Tigris Initiative for Cooperation (ETIC), retired Professor of Water Resource Management from Aleppo University
10:30-11:30 a.m.
Collaborative Planning and Knowledge Development 2008-2011
- Eblal Zakzok, Assistant Professor of Water Resource Management, The Ohio State University
- Suha Abdul Rahman
11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Round Table - Luncheon Discussion
Open to the Mershon affiliates
Register for the Round Table Discussion
1-2 p.m.
Concurrent Sessions
1. ETIC project development: How can knowledge be carried on under conditions of war and diaspora?
2. Intersections between technical and traditional water management cooperation
3. Implications for the differing levels of power and political affiliations between the countries of the region
2-3:15 p.m.
Report from Concurrent Sessions
Whole group discussion
3:15- 3:30 p.m.
Concluding remarks
Alam Payind, director of the Middle East Studies Center
For more information, visit the Mershon Center.
