Georgetown University LogoGeorgetown University Library LogoDigitalGeorgetown Home
    • Login
    View Item 
    •   DigitalGeorgetown Home
    • Georgetown University Institutional Repository
    • Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service
    • Student Scholarship
    • Science Technology and International Affairs (STIA)
    • View Item
    •   DigitalGeorgetown Home
    • Georgetown University Institutional Repository
    • Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service
    • Student Scholarship
    • Science Technology and International Affairs (STIA)
    • View Item
    JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

    THE SECURITIZATION OF TRANSBOUNDARY WATER RESOURCES: A Discourse Analysis of Iranian-Afghan Relations in the Helmand River Basin

    Cover for THE SECURITIZATION OF TRANSBOUNDARY WATER RESOURCES:  A Discourse Analysis of Iranian-Afghan Relations in the Helmand River Basin
    View/Open
    View/Open: Thesis (1.1MB) Bookview

    Creator
    Lane, Ashley
    Abstract
    Over the past few decades, Iran has been facing an increasingly severe water crisis. The Helmand River Basin, which stretches from southwestern Afghanistan to eastern Iran, has been the site of an on-and-off dispute between the two countries for nearly a century, but it has become more salient recently against the backdrop of Iran’s water crisis and Afghanistan’s dam construction upstream. While the literature suggests that transboundary water resources in the Helmand River Basin have been politicized and even securitized on the Iranian side, no study has examined how Iranian government officials have framed water as a political and security issue. This study responds to this gap by analyzing 136 Persian-language news articles from 2014 to 2019 that contained statements by Iranian officials related to the Helmand River Basin, identifying the themes and discursive mechanisms behind the politicization and securitization of this issue. Based on securitization theory, 25 percent of these articles contained a securitizing move, 88 percent of which were made by local officials and Members of Parliament. This demonstrates that securitization was largely a localized phenomenon and reflects the broader internal tensions over the framing of water relations with Afghanistan among Iranian officials. Another key theme throughout the discourse was the link between human and environmental systems, with the importance of transboundary water resources being established through their connection to society. This study proposes that spatial scale, water scarcity, and socio-political context are important factors shaping securitization in the Helmand River Basin.
    Permanent Link
    http://hdl.handle.net/10822/1060360
    Date Published
    2020-05
    Rights
    Subject
    Iran; Water; Helmand River Basin; Afghanistan; Water crisis; Transboundary water resources; Security; Securitization; Politicization; Water scarcity; Spatial scale;
    Type
    Thesis
    Collections
    • Science Technology and International Affairs (STIA)
    Metadata
    Show full item record

    Related items

    Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.

    • Thumbnail

      Pap Smear Brochures, Misogyny and Language: A Discourse Analysis and Feminist Critique 

      Lane, Vivien; Lawler, Jocalyn (1997-12)
    Related Items in Google Scholar

    Georgetown University Seal
    ©2009 - 2023 Georgetown University Library
    37th & O Streets NW
    Washington DC 20057-1174
    202.687.7385
    digitalscholarship@georgetown.edu
    Accessibility
     

     

    Browse

    All of DigitalGeorgetownCommunities & CollectionsCreatorsTitlesBy Creation DateThis CollectionCreatorsTitlesBy Creation Date

    My Account

    Login

    Statistics

    View Usage Statistics

    Georgetown University Seal
    ©2009 - 2023 Georgetown University Library
    37th & O Streets NW
    Washington DC 20057-1174
    202.687.7385
    digitalscholarship@georgetown.edu
    Accessibility