ABSTRACT
Transboundary river basins are by their nature surrounded by political discourses and negotiations associated with the application of legal mechanisms. Although legal frameworks have contributed a great deal to formalizing transboundary water interactions, the potential power of certain legal mechanisms to influence the political dynamics over international waters is understudied. One of the most challenging examples of these issues can be found in the arid region of the Helmand River shared between Afghanistan and Iran. After long term conflicts and negotiations influenced by geopolitical interaction of the “Great Game”, Afghanistan and Iran agreed on a treaty in 1973 to share water of Helmand River. This article examines how the treaty and its considered river basin organization which is called Helmand Water Commission works under a highly geopolitical sensitive condition.
