This paper aims to analyse the context in which water issues may or may not lead to inter-state conflict or internal unrest, and to what extent they mitigate or aggravate other factors of conflict. The paper deals specifically with the states of the Middle East and North Africa that share surface or ground-water with their neighbors. Past water-related controversies are identified and prospects for conflict or negotiated solutions are assessed. In addition, the papper examines the objectives of water planning within the context of national economic priorities, since this is the key to understanding the importance of water in the international arena.

"An analysis of environmental, economic and political factors influencing water management and water disputes in the Jordan and Nile basins and Tigris-Euphrates region." Cover title. "Winter 1992/93."

Introduction--I. The Jordan Basin and the Litani--II. The Tigris-Euphrates Basin Region--III. the Nile Basin--IV. Legal and financial dimensions--Conclusions: the agenda for the 1990s--Appendix 1: water in oil economics.