Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of illustrations
- List of tables
- Preface
- Preface to the paperback edition
- List of abbreviations
- 1 Introduction: conflict and cooperation in international river basins
- Part I Riparian dilemmas
- 2 The environment of conflict in the Jordan basin
- 3 Riparian disputes compared
- Part II The Jordan waters conflict
- Part III The Jordan basin since 1967
- Appendix 1 US involvement in water development in the Jordan basin
- Appendix 2 The unified development of the water resources of the Jordan Valley region
- Appendix 3 The Arabs' plan for development of water resources in the Jordan Valley
- Appendix 4 The Cotton plan for the development and utilization of the water resources of the Jordan and Litani River basins
- Appendix 5 Annex II: from, Treaty of Peace Between the State of Israel and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
- Notes
- Select bibliography
- Index
- Cambridge Middle East Library
2 - The environment of conflict in the Jordan basin
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 08 December 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of illustrations
- List of tables
- Preface
- Preface to the paperback edition
- List of abbreviations
- 1 Introduction: conflict and cooperation in international river basins
- Part I Riparian dilemmas
- 2 The environment of conflict in the Jordan basin
- 3 Riparian disputes compared
- Part II The Jordan waters conflict
- Part III The Jordan basin since 1967
- Appendix 1 US involvement in water development in the Jordan basin
- Appendix 2 The unified development of the water resources of the Jordan Valley region
- Appendix 3 The Arabs' plan for development of water resources in the Jordan Valley
- Appendix 4 The Cotton plan for the development and utilization of the water resources of the Jordan and Litani River basins
- Appendix 5 Annex II: from, Treaty of Peace Between the State of Israel and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
- Notes
- Select bibliography
- Index
- Cambridge Middle East Library
Summary
In two seminal articles from the 1950s, Harold and Margaret Sprout discuss the importance played by the environment, or milieu, in international politics. They argue that to make sense of the political behavior of states and of individuals requires understanding the environment, or context, in which actors operate and the variety of constraints and possibilities it poses. In response to geopolitical theories of international behavior which assumed the pre-eminence of geographic variables — in vogue from World War I until mid-century — the Sprouts posit an integrated, holistic view of the environment, taking account of both physical and non-physical features. The environment is a multi-dimensional system in which no one variable occupies a pre-eminent position. And because human activity is affected by environmental factors, broadly defined, politics can only be understood by exploring the multiplicity of “man—milieu relationships.”
However, the Sprouts caution that it is not enough to study objective environmental conditions to make sense of political behavior. Perceptions of the environment — what the Sprouts refer to as the “psychomilieu” — are themselves important objects of study and analysis. Indeed, it is on the basis of perceptions that decisions are made and policy carried out. Nonetheless, the outcome of decisions is conditioned by the actual environment, or, “operational milieu.”
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Water and PowerThe Politics of a Scarce Resource in the Jordan River Basin, pp. 19 - 53Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 1993