Water diplomacy in regional cooperation: The case of Mekong River

Disputes related to water resources in international relations have been going on since its historic times. The main function range of water is wide and it is the main reason for disagreements that a life without water will not exist. This situation creates pressure on water resources. The actors' desire to use and manage water with effective way, and the fact that water has become the focus due to its global importance, increases the intensity of disputes today. This situation is encountered more frequently among the states that have water resources in the region. Actors also increase pressure to use water resources in different regions more effectively and have a say in their management. These conflicts between states prevent the formation of cooperation mechanisms regionally and also trigger the environmental problems by preventing the efficient use of water. In the context of water resources dispute, water diplomacy is used to prevent conflict between states and to manage tensions. Water diplomacy refers to collaborations that facilitate and support solutions, as well as developing solutions through dialogue on water-related problems. Especially in regional disputes, water diplomacy and mechanisms have more functions and effectiveness. The Mekong River Basin, which hosts a regional water dispute, can be considered as one of the sources where water diplomacy frameworks are applied. The theoretical framework put forward with the data dealing with the effectiveness of water conflicts and diplomacy in the regional context was compared; the main question of the study was tried to be placed on an even more solid ground. The conflict of interests of the regional states regarding the use and management of water resources and the establishment of a cooperation structure at the regional level by using the water diplomacy framework constitutes the basis of an important search within the problematic question. The effectiveness of water diplomacy in the current disagreement with the Mekong River, the development and sustainability of this event in regional cooperation were discussed at the core of the study. Keywords: Diplomacy, Water Diplomacy, Mekong River Basin, Regional Cooperation, Geopolitics