Water works and the state

“Water Works” is no less important than the presidential election matters we are currently experiencing. However, it seems that we as a society needed to go through a serious threat of drought in order to realize that this is the case. Today, everyone has come to understand in all seriousness that water works are not a “trivial” matter.

The water problem we are currently experiencing cannot be explained solely by the scarcity of rainfall in recent years. Global warming is causing water resources to shift toward new basins. In ancient times, the shift of water basin sources also followed a certain periodic timeline, where waters that were abundant in one period would become scarce in another. People, in turn, determined their lives or migration routes based on these periods offered by nature. It is known that one of the most important factors pushing the Turks from Central Asia to Anatolia or other parts of the world was these periodic ebbs and flows of water resources.

Nevertheless, when it comes to water, there is a historical difference spanning all of history between the East and the West. This difference has been regarded as the most important reason why the state in the East emerged in the form of Oriental Despotism prior to modern times, whereas in the West the state remained weaker, with autonomous feudal powers gaining greater prominence instead.

So, do not brush off state water works. Water works have been among the most crucial tasks making the state a state in the East. This is because scarce and distant water resources made distributing water throughout the entire country and utilizing it in production a matter of strong organization. Establishing this organization and ensuring its security necessitated the formation of exceptionally strong power structures. Those who established or controlled this organization rendered the entire country dependent on themselves and turned to using the armed forces they developed to protect it as a tool to maintain despotic rule over the people.

In Europe, however, the situation was not like this. The abundance of water relatively kept people's dependence on the state lower at all times. Since there was no need requiring a centralized organization such as irrigation, more local elements—namely, the direct owners of the land—possessed power over the general public as a natural consequence generated by their property. Some Orientalists even base their theses regarding the underdevelopment of civil society in the East on this comparison. It became possible for the state in Europe to become thoroughly authoritarian and establish a more authoritarian power structure over the entire country only with the Industrial Revolution, which necessitated a centralized organization. Industry, through railways, other transportation routes, and production and consumption networks, possesses in any case an inclination toward imperial expansion that transcends local borders. Along with this revolution, the nation-state structure emerged as a necessity and established an authoritarianism that actually rivaled the image of Oriental despotism.

The conditions of their water resources fundamentally determined the historical trajectories, as well as the political and social structures, of Asia and Europe.

When Water Works are mentioned in Turkey, the first person that comes to mind is our 9th President, who secured his most significant political career precisely through the dams he built owing to his interest in this field. One of the main reasons Demirel remained very strong in rural areas for many years perhaps stemmed from his skillful management of water resources. I am certain that Demirel is closely following the water problem we are currently undergoing, with the expectation that a new opportunity for power might open up for him these days.

What we are experiencing today is not closely related to the periodic ebbs and flows of water. There is a process at play in which being industrialized has also come into the equation and threatens the entire routine of the world. If we used water resources more conscientiously, perhaps despite everything, the impacts of all these global and local water shifts could have been compensated for. However, the fact that water has become a problem today stems above all from this irresponsible usage.

The management of water affairs is one of the most critical testing grounds for a power structure, manifesting its oppression or justice, its competence or incompetence. We learn from the Holy Qur'an that the management of scarce water resources provided Prophet Joseph with a realm of governance that was "just and for the benefit of all people."

The management of water resources is precisely a highly distinguishing domain in which the full measure of people's qualities (or lack thereof) is put on display. It is a task that can only be undertaken by those who are competent, qualified, whose eyes and ears are attuned to the heavens, and who can maintain the balance between earth and sky.

If only there were a way to keep the water issue out of the interest of political opportunists who view it as a realm of opportunity for their own power...