Dr Mark Zeitoun, Senior Lecturer, m.zeitoun@uea.ac.uk

Room: Arts1.92

Extension: 3232



Mark’s primary research interests lie in the political economy of transboundary environmental governance in ‘development’ contexts. He concentrates on three specific topics: a) international and sub-national transboundary water conflict and cooperation; b) climate vulnerability and adaption to environmental and political change; and c) relationships between environmental conflict, and human, state and regional security. He is particularly interested in the role that power asymmetry plays within each topic, with a geographic focus on the Middle East and Africa.

The interests have been cultivated by his role as co-lead in the London Water Research Group and the UEA Water Security Research Centre, both of which take a critical perspective at international transboundary environmental cooperation and conflict, and 'hydro-hegemony'. The groups gather international water professionals, activists and scholars from the social and natural sciences to address issues of asymmetric water allocation and regimes. The contributions to water science and water policy are through demonstrating the relevance of political economy, hydro-politics and international law at the river basin, regional and global levels.

The research is based on a professional career in water policy, management and negotiations. Mark has worked as a humanitarian-aid water engineer in conflict and post-conflict zones, including in Chad/Darfur, Congo-Brazzaville, Lebanon, Iraq and Palestine. He consults regularly on water negotiations, policy and governance for a variety of organisations. He is author of Power and Water in the Middle East: The Hidden Politics of the Palestinian-Israeli Water Conflict (IB Tauris 2008), and contributes regularly to debates through public lectures and media pieces.

Mark has a B.Eng in civil engineering (1990) and an M.Sc in environmental engineering (1998) from McGill University, and a PhD in human geography from King’s College London (2006). He is a Visiting Fellow at the Centre for the Study of Global Governance, London School of Economics and Political Science.
 

Affiliations

International Water Resources Association – Executive Board, 2009
GEF-Science / UNESCO Groundwater Working Group – member, 2009
UNESCO ISARM Conference 2010 – Scientific Steering Committee
Centre for the Study of Global Governance, London School of Economics, Visiting Fellow (from 2008)
London Water Research Group – coordinator or lead (from 2006)
International Water Resources Association XIII World Water Congress, Scientific Steering Committee (2006 - 2008)
Association of American Geographers, USA (2008)
Canadian Water Resources Association, Canada (from 2005)
Registered Engineers for Disaster Relief, London (from 2004)
International Water Resources Association, USA (from 2004)
Professional Engineers Ontario, Canada (from 1996)
Centre for Developing Area Studies, Montreal (1998 – 1999)
Ingénieurs sans frontières (Engineers Without Borders), Montreal (1998 - 1999)