Hydro Political Relation in the Eastern Nile Basin

Abstract Hydropolitical relations have long attracted the world of academia, and hydrohegemony and counter-hydrohegemony frameworks have recently become important in analysing power relations between riparian states. However, little attention has been given to the hydrohegemonic situation of the Nile River. This study tries to analyse this status, specifically in the Eastern Nile Basin. The data, elicited through unstructured interviews from purposively selected informants, has been analysed thematically. The findings reveal that Egypt aspires to be a hegemon in the basin but is not. Despite its use of different coercive and subtle mechanisms to induce ideational or hegemonic compliance, these have not been successful: Ethiopia has not consented to or accepted Egypt’s claim over the Nile. Concomitantly, since the 1990s, Ethiopia’s position has transcended from veiled to overt contest, which anticipates a new order, challenging the monopolistic position of Egypt.