Water Geopolıtıcs ın the New Internatıonal System: A Global Analysıs of the Transformıng Nexus Between Power, Sovereıgnty, and Sustaınabılıty

Abstract

This study analyzes the transforming dynamics of water geopolitics in the new international system through the framework of interrelationships among power, sovereignty, and s s sustainability. The research examines the transformation of water from a passive natural resource to an active strategic variable through an original theoretical framework integrating critical geopolitics, political ecology, and international law perspectives. Employing a qualitative comparative analysis methodology, the study identifies three core themes through thematic analysis of secondary sources: relational power operating through infrastructure, transformed sovereignty in transboundary contexts, and the instrumentalization of sustainability discourse. The research findings reveal that power increasingly operates through epistemic authority, data control, and technical expertise rather than direct coercion. The concept of sovereignty has transformed from absolute territorial control to a relational, negotiated, and conditional practice. Sustainability discourse functions as a politicized terrain that legitimizes hegemonic projects while masking social costs, rather than serving as a neutral technical objective. The study demonstrates that institutional cooperation mechanisms can perpetuate rather than balance power asymmetries, and that climate uncertainty elevates risk management capacity to a new dimension of sovereignty. The original theoretical contribution of this research lies in conceptualizing the power-sovereignty-sustainability nexus, wherein these three dimensions are understood not as independent variables but as dynamic processes that mutually constitute and transform one another. The study offers policy recommendations for democratizing data regimes in water governance, ensuring accountability in climate adaptation, and integrating justice dimensions into sustainability frameworks.