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EVST
245/IRIS 245: Water and Politics in the Middle East
Course
Description:
Water scarcity poses one of the most immediate and serious
threats to the international community. One problem specific
to Middle East water resource management is that major
watershed (and groundwater) divides rarely coincide with
political boundaries. In some cases, such as the Nile
River, the Tigris River and the Euphrates River, a single
water source passes through several nations, and disputes
arise between upstream and downstream users. In other
cases, rivers form national borders, such as the Jordan
River, which is lodged between Israel and Syria, Jordan
and the West Bank. The control of this resource has become
the primary national security issue for many Middle East
nations. In an active-learning format and using a series
of Middle East case studies, this class will enable students
to determine both the historical and modern, natural and
human-induced factors that lead to water crises (i.e.
shortages) in any part of the world; to predict the socio-economic
and political implications of water crises; and to formulate
workable solutions to a water crisis. Students conduct
multi- and inter-disciplinary analyses of at least five
Middle East water crises in an integrated laboratory and
class format. Four hours. Mr. Fenster
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