جستجوی مقالات مرتبط با کلیدواژه « هیدروپلیتیک » در نشریات گروه « جغرافیا »

Key actors have the most influence on an issue, issue, activity, strategy or decision, and these actors use a variety of methods in a wide range of management, policy, marketing, futures, etc., issues related to border rivers and It is widely used across borders and in environmental management, and the Aras River, with an area of more than one hundred thousand square kilometers, covers parts of Turkey, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Iran. The part of Aras Basin which is located in Iran is the northwestern tip of the country and on the right bank of the river in the provinces of West Azerbaijan, East Azerbaijan, Ardabil and a small part of Guilan province, which is about 41% of the total area of Aras Basin. Makes up. The aim of this study was to identify the positions of key Iranian actors in the hydropolitical relations of the border river basin. The research method is analytical-descriptive and the type of research is basic-applied. The tool used in this article is the future research method of Maktor. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Interior and the Environment Organization are the most influential actors in the Ministry of Energy.

The position of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers is in the least compatible with national borders or with the political and strategic considerations of regional countries. The sources of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers are located in Turkey, and Turkish authorities believe they own the resources. A project called "Gap" or "Anatolian" in the framework of the construction of more than 22 dams and 19 hydroelectric projects and development of the agricultural system in the Tigris and Euphrates watersheds has been on the Turkish governmentchr('39')s agenda by 2023, reflecting the security threat. The environmental and water security of the downstream countries (Iraq, Syria and Iran) have been demonstrated. The present study is based on the assumption of reflecting the Hydropolitic relations of the Tigris and Euphrates basin (based on Gap Project) with the viewpoint of continuing climate change and changing rainfall patterns and increasing water use in downstream countries using library resources. In the form of a threat to the security of the southwestern areas of Iran, it will intensify. The results showed that the consequences of the Hydropolitic approach of the Tigris and Euphrates countries, especially Turkey, besides threatening environmental security, affect other aspects of security in the economic, social and political spheres in the southwest of the country.

The world's freshwater resources, including waterways, aquifers, lakes, and rivers, play a key role in the economic development and well-being of humanity and contribute to the world's biodiversity on a large scale. Many of these resources are shared between two or more countries and are linked by a complex network of environmental, political, economic, and security dependencies. With 286 common international basins, 151 countries comprise more than 2.8 billion people (about 42% of the world's population) in 62 million square kilometers (42% of the total land). They have to work together to exploit common water resources. There have always been differences between upstream and downstream governments in obtaining their rights to non-shipping uses of international joint water resources. Kora-Aras river basin is one of the main basins of the South Caucasus with an area of 110190 square kilometers, 65% of which is located in the South Caucasus countries: 31.5% in the Republic of Azerbaijan, 18.2% in Georgia, 15.7% in Armenia, 19.5% in Iran and 15.1% in Turkey, for the cooperation of two or more nations and countries. The purpose of this study is to identify the factors affecting the future status of hydro-political relations between the countries of the Kura-Aras catchment area and the extent to which it is possible to identify the main drivers and consider alternative futures in the short, short, medium and long term. This study investigates the importance of sensitive conditions in the hydro-political relations of the Kura-Aras catchment countries based on these key drivers. Therefore, in order to answer this question, what are the most important and key factors influencing the future of Kura-Aras hydro-political relations in this article?

The types of applied research and data collection methods are documentary, library method using the opinion of experts, data analysis method using Mick Mac futures research software, and cross-matrix analysis method.

Based on the Delphi method mentioned, 32 variables in 4 areas as factors affecting the future of explaining the hydro-political relations of the Kora-Aras catchment countries on Iran's environmental security were identified and then analyzed by interaction / structural effects with Mic Mac software to extract the main factors influencing the explanation. The hydro-political relations of the Kura-Aras catchment countries were studied and analyzed. According to the software results, the degree of filling of the matrix is 96.77734%, which shows that the selected factors have a large and scattered effect on each other. In fact, the system has been in a state of instability. Out of a total of 991 measurable relationships in this matrix of 33 relationships, their number was zero, meaning that the factors did not affect or were not affected by each other. For 249 relationships, the number was one, meaning they had little effect on each other; for 466 relationships, the number was 2, which means that they had a relatively strong effective relationship; for 276 relationships, the number 3, which means that the relationships of critical factors have been very high and have been very influential. On the other hand, the matrix based on statistical indicators with 2 times of data rotation has 100% usefulness and optimization, indicating the questionnaire's high validity and answers. Then, for the general analysis of the system environment, and finally, for identifying the drivers, the vital effective factors, the impact plan, and the variability of the variables were examined, as well as the ranking and displacement of the variables. Among the 32 factors studied in the study, 15 main factors were selected as critical factors to explain the hydro-political relations between the countries of Kora-Aras catchments on Iran's environmental security, which have a high impact and the least impact that these factors are shown in the table. Eventually, Mic Mac 11 software provided the main and key drivers for compiling and narrating the explanation of hydro-political relations between the countries of the Kura-Aras catchments, which included.

Water has always played an important role in the world system's geopolitics and countries' foreign policy as a key element in human life. The crisis caused by water scarcity and the lack of sustainable management of water resources, joint watersheds between countries, and political, economic, social, and environmental interdependence on water resources has given a special place to this vital substance in the relations of human communities. Based on Hafeznia's definition, water hydro-politics or geopolitics studies the role of water in the relations and conflicts of human communities and nations and governments, whether within or between countries or transnational, regional, global, and international dimensions. The common water resources in all five coastal countries of the Kora-Aras Basin are associated with shortcomings. Northwest of Iran is one of the most prosperous agricultural regions whose livestock and agricultural products seriously ensure food security. Therefore, the occurrence of any event that leads to the reduction of water resources, especially in the field of agriculture and environmental security, in general, in addition to regional and national security, threatens the events of the last decade and a half, such as climate change and increasing water needs. Intensification of tensions in hydro-political relations has led to the intensification of the Kura-Aras border rivers, which will be intensified according to the available data in the future if the scientific methods as well as solving legal problems using active diplomacy in foreign relations. It should not be done properly, and the water upstream in Turkey and Armenia should be used more than this. In the future, the northwestern provinces of Iran (West Azerbaijan, East Azerbaijan, Ardabil) and the provinces of Gilan, and especially the Caspian Sea, will be in severe hydro-politics straits. This issue directly impacts the security of these provinces, and as a cloud problem, national and regional problems will appear.

Water is a basic human need and the key to economic development. From the beginning of civilization, people have faced common problems with rivers and freshwater. Water is currently a political issue and should be defined similarly to pressure politicians to recognize the need for political solutions and take responsibility for it. Water policies, commonly known as hydro politics, are policies that affect access to "water resources" and "water" that play an important role in the management of transboundary waters. The term "hydro politics" was coined in 1979 by Waterbury to mean policies influenced by water resources. Kraak believes that hydro politics is the study of geopolitics and international relations around transboundary waters. According to Rai, hydro politics refers to the ability of geopolitical institutions to manage shared water resources in a politically sustainable manner, a process without tension or conflict between political institutions. Tayie believes that in hydro politics, international conflict or political phenomena of cooperation are examined according to constants, variables, and water rights. A closer look at the definitions of hydro politics reveals that hydro politics is about conflict, cooperation, and involvement of governments as major actors in the common international river basin. The Helmand River drains half of southern Afghanistan. and supplies about 80 percent of the water to the uninhabited areas of Sistan. The Helmand River drains half of southern Afghanistan and supplies about 80 percent of the water to the uninhabited areas of Sistan, is the longest river in Afghanistan, about 1,300 km long, and originates in the Hindu Kush Mountains, about 40 km west of Kabul, north of the Onai Pass, and has five tributaries. In the last hundred years, the Afghans have consumed more water and reduced the amount of water flowing to Sistan by separating several canals from Helmand and building reservoirs and diversion dams. Therefore, it can be said that the location of most of the Helmand River in the territory of Afghanistan has caused the Afghan government in recent decades to use Helmand, as a political tool, to influence Iran's foreign policy and positions. This superior position of Afghanistan has led to its geopolitical superiority over Iran, which has always led to Iran's flexibility towards Afghanistan and its geopolitical dependence on the Helmand River water resources. 

In the current research, we downloaded Landsat satellite images for the last three decades to identify and prepare a land use map in the Helmand watershed using the virtual satellite image processing engine (Google Earth Engine). The Kappa coefficient (most pessimistic) and Overall Accuracy (most optimistic) were used to validate the research data. Due to the lack of access to the study area, control points were collected by visual sampling using Google Earth Engine to validate the data. 

The Helmand River is an international river because it is not completely located inside Afghanistan. It can be said that Sistan in eastern Iran is almost 100% dependent on the water of the Helmand River for reasons such as arid and hyper arid climate, extreme heat, desert winds and high erosion, successive drought, lack of deep underground wells, etc. These factors become a more acute problem for the people of Sistan when Afghanistan, which covers about 89 percent of the river's water, experiences severe droughts, low rainfall, low temperatures, and high evaporation in the Helmand Basin. These environmental factors have led Afghanistan to ignore international agreements between the two sides by building several dams on the Helmand River, closing its outlets, and not paying Iran's "water rights" in full. Thus, water has become a political issue between the two countries under widespread environmental factors and has formed Helmand hydro politics.To make the environmental factors affecting Helmand hydro politics more tangible, we have measured three classes of water, vegetation, and soil in the Helmand River Basin using remote sensing. The study results showed that when there is water shortage, lack of rainfall, and drought in the Helmand River Basin in Afghanistan, the Afghan government takes political measures against the downstream country. Measures such as the construction of new dams, closing the doors of old dams, disregard for bilateral agreements, and non-compliance with Iran's water rights by the upstream country will intensify water tensions in the basin. 

In fact, political instability in Afghanistan, the rise of extremist Islamist (Taliban government) or anti-Iranian governments (Ashraf Ghani government), on the one hand, and the US military occupation of the country, and the issue of its withdrawal, on the other hand, have pushed Helmand's hydro politics into controversial hydro politics. On the Iranian side of the basin, improper water resources management and the authorities' emphasis on 100% dependence of Sistan on the Helmand River to avoid accepting responsibility will intensify water crises in Sistan. These political factors exacerbate adverse environmental factors throughout the basin. The detection of land use changes in the Helmand River Basin and data analysis confirms the influence of environmental factors on the intensification of political decisions in the Helmand Basin. The recapture of Afghanistan in August 2021 by Taliban extremists, despite the unwritten promises of the group's leaders, does not promise water cooperation in the Helmand River Basin. The transition from the hydro politics of conflict to the hydro politics of cooperation depends on political stability, attention to human rights issues, adherence to the treaties and agreements set by the upstream country, Afghanistan. On the other hand, Iran must show goodwill to expand cooperation in the region. However, the rapid, far-reaching, and imminent developments in Afghanistan have led us to say that we must wait for the future to analyze the hydro political future of the Helmand River Basin. 

There is no funding support.  Authors’ ContributionAuthors contributed equally to the conceptualization and writing of the article. All of the authors approved thecontent of the manuscript and agreed on all aspects of the work declaration of competing interest none. Conflict of InterestAuthors declared no conflict of interest. Acknowledgments We are grateful to all the scientific consultants of this paper.

Afghanistan's attitude towards dam construction and water infrastructure projects is from two aspects: First, compensating for the deficiencies in the development of water, agricultural and economic infrastructures that have suffered stagnation and backwardness during the years of war, occupation and destruction, and Second, the application of hydro hegemony policy (instrumental role of water) as a part of hydro political, geopolitical policy (water against immigrants and water against oil) and Afghanistan's foreign policy in political and diplomatic exchanges with two neighboring countries, Iran and Pakistan; As a landlocked country. The main source of water supply in Mashhad is mainly underground sources. The main source of water supply in Mashhad is mainly underground sources, however, climatic changes (drought), the state of internal resources, and on the other hand, the continuous growth of the population (and in proportion to the growth of demand), have made water supply dependent on external sources. With the construction of Selma Dam on the main branch of Harirud, the water flow to Dosti Dam has decreased by 40%. The investigations of this article show that the water shortage crisis in Northeast Iran, It has geopolitical, social, political-security, economic, environmental and etc. consequences.

This research is taken into account as descriptive – analytical based on nature and method. Information on the research has been gathered in the attributive method and by referring to valid sources.

General view of the hydrology of Mashhad In total, there are more than 736,000 agricultural wells in the country, and 320,000 of them are illegal. Of this amount, 4144 wells belong to the Mashhad plain, most of which are in a supercritical condition. Part of Mashhad's surface water supply is provided by 24 rivers. There are four rivers in Ahmadabad sector, six rivers in Torgabeh sector, four rivers in Razavieh sector, six rivers in Central sector and four rivers belonging to Kalat sector. Most of these rivers are in critical condition. According to the agreements made between the governments of Iran and Turkmenistan, the manner and extent of using the water of Harirrud River and Dosti Dam have been determined. However, there is no agreement with the Afghan government in this regard. Undoubtedly, the construction and completion of water structures on Harirrud, despite a legal vacuum, regardless of the water share and the understanding of the water bottlenecks of the three countries in the common catchment area, will bring water tensions in the future. In total, the tensions caused by water shortage and dehydration in Mashhad metropolis are as follows:-Today, water has emerged as a geopolitical issue, and it affects state relations. Afghanistan's rulers of all orientations know that through water control, they will be able to control their neighbors; in this case, Afghanistan looks at Hirmand and Harirrud rivers as a political tool, and it has based foreign policy doctrine towards Iran and Pakistan on this basis.
-Water, as a rare and non-renewable resource, is the main factor of life and development and the possibility of collision of groups; it increases people and population centers together.
-The security-political tensions of water shortage in Mashhad metropolis are caused by two factors: the high rate of Mashhad's urban population, the reverse migration of villagers and suburban towns to Mashhad metropolis, and unforeseen expenses caused by the rate of the pilgrim population.
-Environmental stresses caused by water shortage in various ways, such as climate change in the region (such as the Hamon area), storms, intensification of fine dust, subsidence, emptying of underground aquifers, intensification of diseases, etc. The climate of Khorasan Razavi, according to the condition of underground water and superficial and in spite of Afghanistan's continuous dam constructions, is susceptible to very acute and severe environmental crises.
- The agricultural sector, as the largest consumer of water in the world, provides food security. Moreover, any change in climatic conditions and access to the required water and threats to the water security of the countries will also be threatened. In general, due to the lack of water, the amount of production of some products will decrease, and that is why we are facing food security.

Problems related to access and lack of water include a wide range of environmental, social, security, political and economic issues such as climate change, migration from the village to the city and the depopulation of border areas, competition and conflict between different social groups, problems related to the field of health is like all kinds of diseases, food insecurity, reduction of quality of life, mental and psychological problems, etc. The water crisis in Mashhad metropolis is a smaller picture of the big picture of the water crisis in Iran. To advance water goals, the Islamic Republic of Iran, in common water areas, while adopting active water diplomacy with its neighbors and establishing an agreement, should give legal and international legitimacy to this issue. However, this research believes that due to the inherent nature of competition over vital resources and the selfish views of upstream countries, expecting water supply from outside the basin is somewhat unrealistic. In general, the focus should be on low-cost and possible methods, for example, reforming the agricultural model within the framework of the principle of sustainable development, collection of runoff water, and utilization and recovery of wastewater and greywater. With these methods, spending less on the coast (compared to sea transfer plans, inter-regional transfer, importation, etc.), it is possible to compensate for part of the country's water tensions.

There is no funding support. Authors’ Contribution Authors contributed equally to the conceptualization and writing of the article. All of the authors approved thecontent of the manuscript and agreed on all aspects of the work declaration of competing interest none.   Conflict of Interest Authors declared no conflict of interest.   Acknowledgments  We are grateful to all the scientific consultants of this paper.

The legal regime of common water resources remains the main concern of countries in the international river basin. In this regard, it seems difficult and unresolved just as before to determine the legal regime of these rivers, due to the different viewpoints of the coastal countries located in the basin of these rivers, on the extent and how to exploit these resources. In general, the approach of governments in the exploitation of these resources stems from two perspectives: a perspective accepts the problem of water scarcity and, with proper management, considers water as an important factor in regional cooperation. In contrast, the other one, given the certainty of conflict over natural resources, regards the conflict and crisis over common water resources as inevitable. Accordingly, the present article examines the governing principles of water resources exploitation of international rivers, assuming that the geographical location (upstream-downstream relations) and hydro-hegemonic position of coastal countries is effective in adopting the governing principles of international rivers. It has also dealt with the conformity ratio of these principles with the approaches and hydro-political attitudes of the countries in the basin of these rivers. The data and information required for the article have been collected through library method (books, publications and Internet). It seems that the adoption or development of governing principles of international rivers exploitation can be derived from the upstream-downstream position and the hydro-hegemonic status of the countries located at the basin of a river. While confirming the hypothesis and the effectiveness of hydropolitical approaches, the article has come to the conclusion that the principles with cooperation-oriented approaches of downstream countries or with low geopolitical weight and the principles with conflict-oriented approaches of upstream countries or with high geopolitical weight have received more attention and acceptance.

Regarding the population growth, industry expansion, rising public health and welfare, per capita renewable water resources are declining. Therefore, this commodity, like other economic commodities, is subject to scarcity. The scarcity and unreasonable use of water resources has created serious and significant problems for sustainable development and environmental protection. Lack of water resources poses a serious threat to human health, food security, industrial development and ecological systems. Because water issues are intertwined with the national history and identity of societies and are also part of the national security of governments; Therefore, strategic confrontation with water relations and conflicts will be an intertwined issue for policymakers in this field. Hence, the political, economic, and environmental actors and actors of the Kura-Aras River Basin in the South Caucasus are numerous and diverse on a regional and global scale. The main use of Kura-Aras water is in agricultural Georgia and in Armenia in agriculture-industry and in the Republic of Azerbaijan it is the primary source for drinking water supply; However, this basin is uncontrollably polluted. Due to the lack of monitoring of urban and industrial wastewater, agricultural recurrent flows and widespread use of pesticides, especially in the Republic of Azerbaijan and oil-related industries, metal extraction and smelting in Georgia and Armenia, the natural mechanism of this basin is facing serious challenges.

Actor analysis or stakeholder analysis is the process by which individuals or groups are identified that have the greatest influence on an issue, issue, activity, strategy, or decision. Various methods of actor analysis are widely used in management, policy-making, marketing and futures research. Actor analysis is widely used in environmental management because the issues in this field are very complex and require the involvement of different individuals, groups and organizations. Accordingly, the word actor or beneficiary is used to refer to each of these different beings. The second goal is to identify the position of each actor in relation to goals, priorities or key issues, and to achieve this goal, a two-part matrix is used. Actor analysis using this method consists of 5 interconnected and related steps: defining actors and their main strategies or goals. When using the module methods, the initial inputs required for the analysis must be provided separately. Therefore, defining the main issues and topics (structural analysis), although it is one of the activities that is done in a complete futures research project in the previous stages, but when using the module, this stage is also added to the research stages. It can also be pointed out that the identification of actors (goals, motives, limitations and tools of their action) as well as the identification of the main strategies and goals of each actor can be considered as two separate stages, but because these two stages actually include gathering two sets of data and forming elements of two separate matrices, in this paper, these two activities are considered in one step.

Experts participating in the panel of experts in this study completed interaction matrices in two stages. In strategic foresight, it is more important than identifying future variables to identify the relationships between them; Because in the real world, these variables affect each other and none of them can be analyzed independently. Identifying interactions paves the way for the use of networked and systemic approaches, including the parsing method. To identify the interactions, experts need to know how to fill in the matrix elements and the meaning of each of the positive and negative numbers. This issue was identified by the researchers as a facilitator for experts, and finally the one-part matrix of actor-actor and the two-part matrix of actor-goal were completed. First, the interaction matrix was scored among the actors, which is an indicator of the relative power or influence of the actors on each other. Interactions between actors are asymptomatic matrices (positive or negative) that determine the intensity of the effect of row elements on columnar elements. of the actors on each other is also obtained. Also in the second stage is the actor-target matrix (tasks).In terms of hydropolitical relations between the countries of Kura-Aras catchment, Turkey, Armenia and Georgia had the most influence in this basin, and among them, Turkey had the most influence and Georgia had the least influence, and Iran and Azerbaijan had very high influence and very low influence. Countries upstream of the Kora-Aras catchment. It is important to note that the role of these two actors in the future of the Kora-Aras catchment area is considered to be very important, considering that Turkey and Armenia are simultaneously highly influential and influential. Assessing the power of actors among the actors shows that Turkey and Armenia are the most influential countries in the Aras-Kora catchment area and Iran and Azerbaijan are the most influential countries.

The crisis of water scarcity and its increasing consequences due to increasing consumption, has caused water to play a more fundamental role in directing the socio-political relations of political-spatial units and human structures, especially in arid regions of the world. In such a way that today the issue of water has affected the security and relations of political-space units. A trend that will be more widespread in the countries located in the desert strip of the world with a view to change the pattern of precipitation and reducing rainfall and increasing water consumption in the future. The reflection of the current situation in many common watersheds has led to changes in the hydropolitical relations of political-space units and has strengthened the confrontational and hydro-hegemonic approaches of political-space units. The habitat of this catchment area of Turkey and Armenia has been through improper dam construction, dumping of sewage from power plants and industrial factories, and among these, the Islamic Republic of Iran has the highest environmental impact (human and natural) and the role of Turkey. And Armenia as the main players in the future have the Kora-Aras catchment.

Today, water is considered as a way of survival and gaining power. The upstream countries of the international rivers are thinking about managing the water that comes out of their soil, as the GAP project in Turkiye is an example. The present study seeks to answer the question of what is the role of the GAP project in the hydropolitics of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and what is Turkiye’s strategy for the implementation of this project? The results of the present study, based on the theoretical approach of hydraulicity, show that Turkiye, as a hydro-hegemonic country upstream of the Tigris and Euphrates transboundary rivers, has adopted a unilateral (self-interpretive) strategy in the pattern of hydropolitical relations with other watersheds in the basin. Therefore, strengthening water diplomacy with a conciliatory approach in the hydropolitical relations of the countries of the region, changing the military and security attitude to the Tigris and Euphrates rivers to an interactive and cooperative attitude, reforming and developing the hydropolitical relations of the basin countries for bilateral or multilateral negotiations are important.

Although the world's fresh water resources are limited, they are constantly facing more demands. Population growth, urbanization and the effort to industrialization have caused more requests for fresh water. Meanwhile, more than 2 billion people in the world are facing water stress. Countries, especially in dry regions, have turned their attention to common basins in order to meet their needs. Iran has different common basins. The Hirmand Basin, which is known as the Helmand Sea in Afghanistan, is one of these common basins. Despite the bilateral agreements between Iran and Afghanistan in recent decades, Hirmand has become an issue of tension between the two countries, and its governing characteristics indicate the change of its status from hydro-politics to geopolitics of water; Because, in a continuous historical effort, Afghans have constructed various dams and diversion channels on the Hirmand and have imposed the price of their agricultural development in that basin on Iran.

This article, which was done with an inductive approach and with the strategy of historical-geographical studies, is of an analytical type and was done in a library method. Due to nature of the subject of the research, which is an international issue between Iran and Afghanistan, therefore, the study has been carried out considering the sources, documents, bilateral agreements of the two countries and international sources and conventions.

The negotiations between Iran and Afghanistan on Hirmand can be analyzed in three political phases: the Qajar period, the Pahlavi period, and the Islamic Republic period. The tension over water share began with the separation of Afghanistan from Iran. During the Qajar era, negotiations were held to determine the border, but no action was taken regarding the determination of the Iran’s share from Hirmand water flow. Due to Reza Shah de-escalation policy, in June 1921 a friendship agreement was signed between the two countries. In 1938 an agreement was signed between the two countries that the Hirmand water in the Kamal Khan area would be halved between the two countries. Afghanistan refused to ratify this agreement. The intensification of tension and occurrence of water shortage caused the issue to be seriously pursued during the period of Mohammad Reza Shah. After the mediation of the United States, an agreement was signed in 1973, which was approved in Iran but not approved by Afghan parliament. During the period of the Islamic Republic, Hirmand water flow continuously decreased and it was completely cut off in some cases mainly during the rule of the Taliban.Over several decades, ignoring Iran's water share, Afghans have built many dams and diversion dams on the Hirmand and its tributaries and have caused water flow reduced. Afghanistan's performance in this regard has been in contradiction with all international conventions and regulations.

Preventing Iran's water share flow is enough to turn Hirmand's situation into a geopolitical issue; meanwhile Afghanistan's actions have challenged international standards. Afghanistan's behavior in Hirmand case and the termination of Iran's concession is in contradiction with paragraph 1 of Article 5 of the United Nations Watercourse Convention, which emphasizes the fair and responsible use of water resources. Also, it is in contradiction with paragraph 1 of article 7 of the same convention and paragraph 1 of article 10 of the Berlin Water Treaty and against the document of the United Nations Environment Program which approved in 1978. The former mentioned document emphasizes the countries' behavior based on good neighborhood and respect for the rights and interests of others. According to the principle of historical exploitation, cutting off Hirmand water means ignoring Iran's natural right and right to the Hirmand stream.

Due to its nature, water resources, in addition to giving life to a land and its creatures, can be the source of differences between countries and nations with common resources and cause great losses. In this regard, a new field of research called hydro politics has been created that surveys these issues. Considering the climate situation of the Middle East and the widespread limitation of water resources in this region, the purpose of this study is to investigate the hydro political situation of Iran's joint watersheds with neighbors with emphasis on the Tigris and Euphrates, especially the Arvandrud River. Using the descriptive-analytical method, first, the resources were reviewed systematically, and then the situation of water resources in the area was identified and studied using spatial analysis. Surveys were conducted on three large scales in the Tigris and Euphrates basins, the middle scale in the Karkheh and Karun basins, and the local scale in the Arvandrud River joint area. Studies have shown that the hydro political situation in the region will become tenser with the control of water by upstream countries and due to the very high population growth and water consumption in Iraq. Also, due to Iraq's limited access to open waters and its very small and unsuitable coastline for maritime transport, there is a potential for tension in the region in the future

Iran and Iraq, as two influential actors in historical periods, have always been influenced by convergent/divergent actions arising from geographical realities in between and in the region, because the factor of geography somehow imposes itself on political systems. Therefore, in recent years, one of the border challenges between Iran and Iraq that has affected the foreign policy of the two countries has been the issues related to hydro-politics. Applying a descriptive-analytical method, the present study aims to answer the following question: What are the most important border challenges of Iran and Iraq in the field of hydro-politics? To conduct the current research, after collecting the documents related to the research, they were explained and analyzed, and the obtained results showed that the most important border challenges of Iran and Iraq in the field of hydro-political resources can be analyzed in two local and regional dimensions. In the local dimension, the mismanagement of water resources and jeopardizing border security due to the crisis-generating potential of the western borders of the country, which can be explained in this issue, first; it mentioned the possibility of a negative reaction of the local people to any action to agree with Iraq to hand over any water resources, taking into account the reduction of these resources; second, intensification of environmental hazards, including the increase of fine dust in the western provinces of the country, which will have a negative reaction inside the country. In the regional dimension, the lack of mutual agreement between the two countries of Iran and Iraq on the use of water resources of the border rivers, which can lead to the formation of any political and security tensions with a regional approach in the future, and determining the share of water rights has become a lever of pressure on the part of the two countries against political demands.

Over the past few decades, emerging environmental threats arising from population growth, the expansion of urbanization, and climate change has led to an increasing threat to water resources on a subnational to transnational scale. The threat to the survival of ecosystems and human societies due to water scarcity, especially in low rainfall areas, has played an effective role in strengthening the aspects of cooperation in hydropolitical relations. The relative power of the countries located in a common basin is one of the reasons of hydro-hegemony, and its most severe form occurs when the country upstream of the basin is the most powerful country or spatial political unit of the basin. The present study aimed at the hydropolitical relations of the countries of the Kura-Aras basins, the inputs of which were conducted using the foundation data method (Grounded Theory) and by conducting semi-structured interviews, and therefore, the question is what are the hydropolitical relations of the countries of the Kura-Aras basin? The results of 30 interviews showed that the most important factors influencing the hydropolitical relations of the countries of this basin are Turkey's dam constructions, river pollution by Armenia, the unclear legal regime of the Aras-Kura River, the economic development plans of the countries of the catchment, weakness management of water resources in the catchment basin and its consequences, threats to food security and agriculture, threats to human health, migration, drying up of the fertile plains of the region, especially Moghan due to pollution, destruction of Arsbaren forests, threats to Iran's national security in the north-west of the country, and the future conflict and tension among the countries of the catchment and the reduction of river water quality.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of Chinese Hydro-hegemony in south and southeast Asia. Therefore, an attempt is made to answer the question of whether china’s Hydro-hegemony can create economic-political insecurity in south and southeast Asia by analytical descriptive method and using scientific research related to water hydro-politics and geopolitics of the studied countries? To answer this question, first the Tibetan plateau region of china as strategic source of water for the major rivers of Asia and finally china’s policies and for the implementation of dam projects and hydropower plants are examined . The conclusion indicates that due to the lack of specific rules and protocols, china can impose increasingly limited economic and trade capabilities on the countries of south and southeast Asia , with their water card policies by controlling water resources as a country upstream of rivers. Also china is able to align them with its policies.

An analysis of the state of Iran's water resources shows that hydro-political challenges have shifted from the national scale to the sub-national scale (at the catchment level) and the conflict of interests of users has led to a contradiction in the approach of agents, especially in times of drought. Meanwhile, Karkheh catchment in Khuzestan feeds by Kashkan river in Lorestan province. On the other hand, climate change and Kashkan floods have often been associated with losses. The basic agricultural livelihood of Delfan city and the prevention of floods have made the construction of Gaushmar dam on Kashkan inevitable. The construction of this dam has reduced the volume of water entering the downstream cities of the dam and the Karkheh catchment in Khuzestan, especially during dry seasons. The construction of this dam has led to the conflict of interests of the actors and the emergence of hydro-political challenges on a subsidence scale. The present article is applied and the methodology of the text is explanatory-analytic. The data and information required for the research were collected by library and field methods (interview). The result of the research showed that with the construction of Gaushmar Dam, hydro-political relations within the province (Lorestan) and extra-provincial relations between Khuzestan and Lorestan provinces have been brought hydro-political tension. The adaptation of these conflict of interests eventually led to a reduction in the height of the dam and the volume of water stored behind the dam due to the authorities’ policies.

Iraq's geographical location is such that many seasonal and permanent rivers of the surrounding countries flow into it. Iraq itself lacks sufficient sustainable water resources to meet its development and infrastructure needs. Hence, the future of Iraq's security and development depends on the hydropolitical approach of the surrounding countries. Over the past decade and a half, Iran has controlled the outflow of water from the western borders of the country as part of a plan to organize and develop water and soil resources in the west of the country, which has reflected on the volume of water entering Iraq have been. The present article is of a practical nature, the methodology of descriptive- analytical text and data- based theory method is used and the required input is used by the library method and the use of data-based theory is based on the hypothesis that hydropolitics is policy-oriented. Iraqi foreigners will be more reflected in their interaction with the Islamic Republic of Iran. The results showed that with regard to the increasing limitation of water resources, increasing water consumption and reducing the inflow of Iranian border rivers to Iraq, which is associated with a threat to part of the country's water and food security, hydropolitics in the form of tension in the direction of Iraq's foreign policy in dealing with the Islamic Republic of Iran will be more reflected.

Central Asia is at the focal point of all geopolitical theories. This region is also the biggest landlocked zone which has no access to water, and with a population of 66 million and inappropriate access to global market has become a tempting trading site for industrial countries such as China, India and Turkey. On the other hand, United States and European Union have some interests in this region such as presence in Russia’s backyard, approaching Iran’s borders and gaining control over these two countries by restricting them. Saudi Arabia and Israel have no less tendency to have access to this region to siege Iran and seek allies in international society. Therefore, each country is struggling to confirm its presence in this region based on their interests and possessions. These states are trying to establish a share of their own actions in this region: European Union by extending NATO, Russia by extending regional alliances, Turkey by economy and Turkish identity, Saudi Arabia by religious fundamentalism, China and India by economic development, US by establishing military bases and financial aid and Israel by sets of investments. Iran as a neighbor of central Asia with a wide historical and cultural links with this region, especially Tajikistan, is so inevitably involved, the Central Asia for Iran can be the sword to Damocles and in any case of activism in this region could threaten Iran. Thus, Iran has to invest in Tajikistan’s dam construction technology to catch existing opportunities to secure its national interests besides all the threatening circumstances.

The present study used documentary research to collect information and has portrayed a clear feature of Central Asia resources and their role in forming the relations of republics in this region based on the existing data and information. The research method has also been based on analytical and descriptive method.

The existing data shows that Amu Darya and Syr Darya supply almost 90% of the water in Aral Lake which reaches to 125 cubic kilometers per year. The remaining 10 percent of the water comes from rivers and other small springs. Tajikistan is the main source of water supply. More than 55.4 percent of the total flows are originated in this country. Therefore, Tajikistan has the capacity to build 100,000 MW hydroelectric power plant and it can alone supply 5 percent of the world’s electricity.This dispersion of water resources shows that nearly 60% of the whole Amu Darya storage capacity and 9% of the total Syr Drya storage capacity are in control of Tajikistan. Although Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan are the main suppliers and controllers of water flows, their overall water usage is less than 15 percent. On the contrary, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan use 71 percent of the accessible water, though they have less share of the water in this region. Most of this water is used for irrigation of cotton fields. In terms of access and exploitation of freshwater, Central Asian countries can be categorized as follows: Countries which have a lot of water, such as Tajikistan (64 km cubic meters, equivalent to 55.4% of the flowing waters of the Aral Lake) and countries with a small amount of water, such as Uzbekistan (8.8 km cubic meters or 7.6%), and Turkmenistan that supplies water entirely from outside of its borders. Among Central Asian countries, nearly 100% of Kyrgyzstan's and Tajikistan's water is supplied from domestic resources.However, all Turkmenistan's water consumption and 50% of Uzbekistan's water are supplied from abroad.

Tajikistan is one of the few countries in the world that can be a strategic alliance of Iran and also the most important country in Central Asia which can lead to the presence of Iran in the region. On the other hand, Iran is one of the few countries in the world that can defend Tajikistan against the adaptation of Russian and Turkish culture. The strong cultural share of the two countries will allow them to abandon many visa and business restrictions in the future and sign a military, economic, and cultural agreement.
Tajikistan is the smallest country in terms of geographical extent and also the poorest in Central Asia. Therefore, both economically and nationally, there is a severe weakness in this country. The identity of this country is being threatened by the interference of the neighboring countries and the youth people immigrate abroad to find jobs. It has a large supply of hydroelectric power, which can also improve its economy by attracting foreign investment and by maintaining a balance of power in its national security area. Meanwhile, Iran is the largest Persian speaking country and is the heir to a great civilization among consanguineous countries and therefore responsible for their defense against Russian and Turkish full cultural adaptation. On the other hand, by investing in hydroelectric power, the country can engage and compete with its rivals, interregional and outsourcing rivals in Central Asia, while securing its economic interests and keep away the threats made by these countries.But the presence of Iran in the central area requires the abandonment of the ideological view of the region and with a realistic insight and emphasis on cultural and linguistic relations should play a role in Central Asia and Tajikistan. Losing Tajikistan and pushing the country into regional rivals like Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United States, Israel and Uzbekistan could lead to a complete cessation of Iran's presence in Central Asia. Although Tehran has good relations with Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, these two countries cannot be reliable and trustworthy partners for Iran, and if their interests are changed, they will easily reduce their relations with Iran.By investing in Tajikistan's economy, especially its water resources, Iran can establish unbreakable ties with Dushanbe, in addition to strengthening the Tajik economy and supplying Iran's water resources. Therefore, Iran can strengthen its presence in Central Asia by using Tajikistan's position, which will reduce the influence of its rivals and enhance the bargaining power of Iran. Therefore, it can be said that hydro-politics is a good field for Iran’s role in Central Asia.

Water has economic, social and environmental effects on spatial development, so this phenomenon is becoming more competitive, more political and more secure. One of the areas where water scarcity is most pronounced is Southwest Asia, and this situation is more pronounced in Iraq and Syria due to its downstream than the Tigris and Euphrates border rivers. Turkey is one of the water-rich countries due to the amount of rainfall and suitable climatic conditions from which the Tigris and Euphrates rivers originate, and most of the water resources of Iraq and Syria originate from Turkey, and these countries are highly agricultural, environmental and Drinking depends on water sources coming from Turkey. By establishing large water projects (Gap project) in southeastern Turkey, Turkey seeks to control the border waters in the Tigris and Euphrates tributaries and pursue its geopolitical goals based on hydro-hegemon and hydropower. Due to the dependence of Iraq and Syria on the border waters with Turkey, it seems that in the near future, the countries downstream of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers will face widespread water tensions. This descriptive- analytical study, using library and Internet resources, seeks to analyze the geopolitics of Turkey's water policies and their consequences in the downstream countries of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers (Iraq and Syria). The results show that Turkey's strategic goals and water policies in the field of extraction and control of border waters, the use of this empowering geopolitical element in line with geo-economic goals (balanced domestic development and achievement of European standards, aligning Kurds with the core Central to this is the rise of bargaining power in energy transactions in the region (geostrategic) (weakening the PKK and its supporting neighbors, operationalizing the neo-Ottoman discourse in the Ottoman Empire).

Water is the origin of life on earth and there is no replacement for it. Unfortunately, transfer and desalination of seawater have a lot of costs. By increase in demands for water resource, and by contamination of surface and underground water, it is considered as important factor in political relations between countries. This may lead to many conflict and dispute over water resource. Inconsistency between Political and natural boundaries caused that more than 40 percent of the world population living in areas that watershed areas are common with other countries. Since the water consumption in upstream of rivers has an increasing trend, subsequently, hydro politic conflicts between societies that living in the upstream and downstream of water resource is increasing, as well as. The Helmand river is a good example for above-mentioned problem. The mean annual Helmand river discharge decreased significantly due to drought events and dam construction in Afghanistan. These factors, result in many Economic, political, social effects. This study aims to investigate the consequences of conflicts over water in Sistan region and spatial reflections of this conflict using descriptive-analytical approach. The results showed that the hydro politic confliction of Helmand river have an important reflection in water crisis in Sistan region and have an important effect in political relations between Iran and Afghanistan. In addition, in inside of Iran have a spatial reflects in economic, social and political dimensions.

Geopolitical relations are relationships between states and countries based on geographical contexts. In fact, the difference between geopolitical relations and political relations is the geographical background of geopolitical relations. In geopolitical relations, contexts are relationships based on geographical components and contexts. The purpose of this study is to model the most important geopolitical contexts. The research method in this study is based on theoretical purpose and descriptive-analytical nature. The most important geopolitical contexts were identified based on the study of nineteen theories and approaches presented by theorists and scholars of political geography, geopolitics, political science, international relations, and the environment. Then, the most important contexts and areas of geopolitical relations are presented in five dimensions of "interaction, opposition, competition, influence and domination" and finally a model is proposed for the contexts and fields of geopolitical relations.IntroductionThe results show that the most important geopolitical contexts and fields include geo-cultural contexts (ethnic groups in neighboring countries, religious affiliation with peripheral countries, historical and civilization factor, ideological factor), contexts and fields of Geopolitics (territorial issues, geographic location, regional hegemony, security approach, geopolitical weight, alliances, regional geopolitical structure, geopolitical codes, neighborhoods and the number of neighbors), geo-economic contexts (Underground and fossil resources, international straits),fields and contexts of hydro-politics ( International rivers, common maritime boundaries and environmental factors).One of the most important issues in geopolitics is "geopolitical relations". A geopolitical relation is the study and analysis of the effects of geographical components on the relations between states and international relations. Geopolitical relations are relationships between states and countries based on geographical contexts. In fact, the difference between geopolitical relations and political relations is the geographical background of geopolitical relations. In geopolitical relations, contexts are relationships based on geographical components and contexts.In general, geopolitical relations are those that are established between states and governments and political actors based on a combination of factors of politics, power and geography. Therefore, in order to understand the specific phenomena that occur in geopolitical relations between countries, geographical factors need to be taken into account. Geography plays a pivotal role in geopolitical relations and provides the impetus for shaping the political will of the relationship as well as influencing the level of actor power (Hafez Nia, 2006, 362). On the other hand, dominant ways of behavior between states, because of various types of relationships, vary in the range of patterns including 'interaction', 'domination', 'influence' and 'competition' and 'confrontation'. Today, geopolitics, geopolitical relations and their analysis are mostly done at the transnational scale.Therefore, the study of the pattern of geopolitical relations on three international, regional and global scales can be discussed. But what matters most is the context and of geopolitical relations. In this research, the most important contexts of geopolitical relations are studied based on the study of theories and approaches and finally the contexts for the dimensions of geopolitical relations as well as the proposed model for the fields of geopolitical relations between countries are presented.MethodologyThis research seeks to theoretically explain the contexts and fields of geopolitical relations between countries. From Newman's point of view, by referring to more general ideas and abstract principles in terms of cause and effect, theoretical explanations describe why a particular event occurs.The purpose of this study is to model the most important geopolitical contexts. The research method in this study is based on theoretical purpose and descriptive-analytical nature.In terms of the purpose, this research is basic. In basic research, the purpose is to discover the facts and to understand the phenomena that lead to the increasing human knowledge. In this research, identifying the components and areas that influence its geopolitical relations is known as a basic research. The components and contexts were identified based on the review of nineteen theories and approaches presented by theorists and scholars of political geography, geopolitics, political science, international relations, and the environment. Research method was descriptive-analytic and the data were collected through library resources. The data were also analyzed qualitatively. Qualitative research is introspective, political, subjective - reflective - interpretive, theory generating and human-centered. The main objective of the study is to explore the conceptual factors (backgrounds and contexts) that influence the formation of geopolitical relationships.Results and discussion On one hand, some theories and approaches have emphasized on one component in geopolitical formation and relationships, such as Huntington's Clash of Civilizations , Geo-economy's (Edward Lutwac's) theory, Muhammad Khatami's Civilization's Dialogue, and the theory of Louise Richardson. Some theories and approaches included several components, such as: Mackinder's Heartland Theory, Spykman's Rimland Theory, ‎Alfred Thayer Mahan's Maritime Power, Wallerstein's World System Theory, " Theory of Power Systems (Brzezinski), Kaplan's theory of the Chaos of the Future, Peter Hagget's Theory, Thomas Homer Dixon's Theory, Regional Conflict Theory (Jeffrey Camp and David Harvey), Theory of Conflict (John Robert Prescott), and the Approach to Geopolitical Conflict (John Collins).The study of theories and approaches shows that each of the theories emphasizes on one or more of the geopolitical, geo-economic, hydro-politics, and geo-cultural components, and no theory encompasses all four components together.Relations between countries took different forms along the temporal dimensions and geographical characteristics of countries. The dimensions of geopolitical relations between countries vary in terms of interaction, competition, domination, influence and opposition.ConclusionThe results show that the most important geopolitical contexts and fields include geo-cultural contexts (ethnic groups in neighboring countries, religious affiliation with peripheral countries, historical and civilization factor, ideological factor), contexts and fields of Geopolitics (territorial issues, geographic location, regional hegemony, security approach, geopolitical weight, alliances, regional geopolitical structure, geopolitical codes, neighborhoods and the number of neighbors), geo-economic contexts (Underground and fossil resources, international straits),fields and contexts of hydro-politics ( International rivers, common maritime boundaries and environmental factors).

International rivers, as borders or crossing national borders, have been considered as a significant part of international relations. Especially, approximately half of the worldchr('39')s population lives within the basin of these rivers, and more than 90% are living in countries with these basins. This condition, by creating an undeniable relationship of interdependence, has made water a critical issue for these countries. Thus, as populations and economies grow and develop and national water resources are exploited for additional growth and development, government action and reaction to a higher share of these transnational sources will increase. By the way, the type of government interaction in line with exploiting these common resources includes a wide range of cooperation to tension and war. In some parts of the world, common water resources in the form of rivers have used as a linking factor between nations and governments. So that, instead of conflict, the beneficiary countries take the path of cooperation and convergence and they have taken important steps with regard to the development of the region as optimal management of common water resources. Although the achievement of international cooperation is a long, lengthy and complex path, always, there are many ways to follow, many steps to take, and many options for appraisal and selection. The current research is a descriptive-analytical research and by means of library resources and examining the practical status of cooperation in a part of the Danube River as a model, concluded that cooperation was not just for water agreements and factors such as environmental concerns, regional security, regional benefits (such as joining organizations and ::union::s), mediation (governments, international organizations, and institutions), etc., are effective in this process.