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This thesis investigates the phenomenon of cooperation and conflict over international water resources. In particular, it focuses on transboundary river cooperation between riparian states with asymmetrical power relations, where the dominant power is an upstream country. As argued by realist scholars, cooperation in international relations is limited. This is especially the case in regards to water resource management, when the upstream country is the regional dominant power as the asymmetric power situation makes bargaining between countries more difficult. The thesis challenges this assumption by asking the following main question: To what extent do power asymmetries prevent or inhibit cooperation between riparian states over water resources? This then raises the questions of how institutions help to mitigate competition for natural resources and how states interact in multilateral settings. To answer the central research question, the thesis develops four hypotheses and tests them by using three case studies: the Mekong, Danube and La Plata River Basins. Overall, the research argues that cooperation in transboundary river basins is possible in asymmetric power relations. It also argues that power is important, but that material power is not the only form of power that can be used by states. The research shows that, aside from the power relationship between the riparians, issue linkage and bargaining plays a central role in addition to the influence of the regional landscape where the basin is located. Further, the thesis argues that there are nuances between cooperation and conflict, and that these dynamics can change over time.

This report outlines a 3-year program to upgrade the knowledge platform for managing water resources in Central Asia. Its ultimate purpose is to enhance the ability of all countries to engage in evidenced- based dialogue on water and energy management. It focuses on regional actions, linking all five countries plus Afghanistan, but recognizes the essential role of national initiatives. It covers the core elements of a modern decision support system and, based on extensive consultations, supports a change in accessing, developing, and sharing information and analysis. The intended outcomes of the road map are to: (i) establish a knowledge platform that is accepted by countries as a basis for cooperative actions; (ii) enhance capacity and knowledge sharing at the national and regional levels; and (iii) directly improve management of water at national and transboundary scales.

It is often argued that the true benefits of water resource development in international river basins are undermined by a lack of consideration of interdependence in water resource planning. Yet it has not been adequately recognized in the water resources planning literature that overestimation of interdependence may also contribute to lack of progress in cooperation in many systems. This paper examines the nature and degree of economic interdependence in new and existing water storage projects in the Ganges River basin based on analysis conducted using the Ganges Economic Optimization Model. We find that constructing large dams on the upstream tributaries of the Ganges would have much more limited effects on controlling downstream floods than is thought and that the benefits of low-flow augmentation delivered by storage infrastructures are currently low. A better understanding of actual and prospective effects of interdependence not only changes the calculus of the benefits and costs of different scenarios of infrastructure development, but might also allow riparian countries to move closer to benefit sharing positions that are mutually acceptable.