POWER STRUCTURES IN WATER REGIME FORMATION: A COMPARISON OF THE JORDAN AND EUPHRATES TIGRIS RIVER BASINS Bezen Balamir Coskun * Abstract This article is a comparative analysis of the effects of power structures on the success and/or failure of the water regimes in the Jordan River Basin and Euphrates Tigris River Basin. In order to see the differences and/or similarities between the two river basins, both of which are located in the same geographical region, regime theory is taken as the theoretical framework. The article contributes to the research on water in the Middle East in two ways: first, it analyses the role of domestic powers as well as global and regional powers on regime outcome; and second, it provides a basis for understanding why the riparians have chosen cooperative strategies in the Jordan Basin while in the Euphrates Tigris region temporary resolutions have been chosen. INTRODUCTION In most water poor regions, access to water may draw the borderlines for relations among regional actors. As fresh water is vital for the livelihood of human beings, the struggle for access to and control over water resources has been a major cause of tensions among communities. Water that transcends state boundaries may lead to further complexities in terms of riparian relations and institutional limitations. The vitality of fresh water, accompanied with the water scarcities in water poor regions, makes hydro-politics among riparian states one of the most complex issues in international relations. Given the environmental security dimension of transboundary water issues, two different approaches have been used to explain them. On the one hand, some scholars like Gleick (1993) and Homer-Dixon (1994) stress the likelihood of violent conflicts arising over water resources. On the other hand, scholars like Wolf (1998) focus on the likelihood of cooperation over water resources based on empirical evidence. As far as empirical records are concerned, in spite of the potential for * Graduate of the Master’s Program at the Research Centre on Development and International Relations at Aalborg University, and currently a PhD candidate at Loughborough University (UK) Department of Politics, International Relations and European Studies. This article is taken from her Master’s thesis, submitted to the Research Center on Development and International Relations, Aalborg University (Denmark), under the supervision of Bjørn Møller.