ABSTRACT
Water security has reached the highest political forum in international relations. Earlier work has developed an analytical framework for examining international law through a water security lens by focusing on issues of availability; access; adaptability and ambit. A contemporary understanding of water security, rooted in the notion of common concern, provides an impetus for riparian countries to rethink their existing approach to water diplomacy and base it on a more common strategy. In order to be able to analyse international legal regimes, the paradigm of water security needs to be fleshed out further. In order to understand why the global water crisis – including its regional and local impacts – is often being phrased as a security concern; one has to comprehend the changing perception of security. Egypt has applied various tactics not just to maintain the control over the freshwater resource, but also to be proactive in challenging the increase in power of its upstream riparians.
