Regulating Water and War in Iraq: A Dangerous Dark Side of New Governance

Abstract

In the legal scholarship, the 'new governance' mode of governance advances an administrative arrangement where decision-making is shared amongst a range of actors, both public and private. The flexible, responsive, and collaborative governance orientation is intended to counter the ill effects of a coercive, top-down, state-centric, commandand-control approach to governance. Critics contend the new governance framework can displace the interests of local communities, disempower individuals, and dislodge basic human rights. The U.S. military has adopted such an adaptive approach in its own governance structure, which in this article is referred to as: the new governance "mentality." This mentality of governance was employed in the U.S.'s post-conflict reconstruction efforts in Iraq-efforts that were plagued by waste, inefficiency, and corruption. Governance scholars have yet to ask the question of what models of governance should apply in the post conflict situation where the environmental violence of war has poisoned waterscapes and degraded landscapes. Should an adaptive mode of new governance be applied in post conflict situations where public institutions are weak and beset by corruption? What is the role of the state and private actors when the war is over and the reconstruction period begins? In this article, we explore a dark side of the new governance framework through the case study of the Iraq war theatre 454 INDIANA JOURNAL OF GLOBAL LEGAL STUDIES 21:2 and examine how the transformed military culture shaped the 2003-2013 Coalition operations in Iraq and the reconstruction effort-in particular, the provision of safe, clean drinking water to local communities.

Water in war: Understanding the impacts of armed conflict on water resources and their management

“…First instances that are recorded in the Pacific Institute's Water Conflict Chronology date back several millennia (Gleick, 2019). Large portions of Iraq's water infrastructure were constructed as part of the British war efforts against the Ottoman Empire during the First World War to establish control along the Euphrates and Tigris rivers and gain a strategic advantage (Dowdeswell & Hania, 2014). For Israel, the expansion of irrigated agriculture, and thus the allocation of water resources to agricultural production, has constituted an important tool to solidify territorial control over the past decades (Kartin, 2001).…”

“…External actors, often international organizations, also play an important role in the re-shaping of water governance during and after conflict periods. Dowdeswell and Hania (2014) analyze the impacts of a new governance model introduced in the Iraqi water sector by the US forces after the fall of Saddam Hussein and the systematic removal of Ba'ath party members from public office. The model brought changes to governance arrangements from the national down to the local level and intended to improve public and private sector participation during the reconstruction.…”

“…The model brought changes to governance arrangements from the national down to the local level and intended to improve public and private sector participation during the reconstruction. However, according to Dowdeswell and Hania (2014), the new system primarily benefited the military, private contractors and wealthy citizens. Sharing insights from Southern Sudan, Mugabi, Selle, James, and Lubanga (2005) highlight the risk of losing local ownership when external actors, here aid agencies, enter the governance arena and take over infrastructure development or service provision.…”

Armed conflict and household water sources

“…The authors observed a steep decline in service quality of water, which they attributed to a lack of water treatment chemicals and spare parts, in addition to a brain drain among water service staff (Zeitoun et al, 2017). Also with respect to Iraq, Dowdeswell and Hania (2014) discuss the limited access to potable drinking water and adequate sewage systems that many communities in Iraq face because of the ongoing war there, and note in particular that many public water sources are contaminated. Combatants specifically targeted water pipelines during battle for Mosul in 2016, which left 650,000 people without access to piped water; the authors specifically noted that continuing unrest following the battle made it impossible for staff to assess and repair damage (Diep et al, 2017).…”