Political dimension of water governance in iran(1989-2013). A Critical Study

Today, globally, this idea is increasingly accepted that the water crisis in most of the countries is in fact the crisis of water governance. According to the importance of water governance in water resources policy, in this paper, we try to focus on the Iranian water policies over 24 years with the help of the network analysis method. The findings of this study indicate that due to the excessive focus of decision-making power in the hands of government agencies (particularly the ministry of energy), lack of the possibility of stakeholders and the non - governmental sector participation in the water resources policy, the political dimension of water governance in Iran has been a real failure. This is one of the most important factors that underlies the inefficiency of the water policy and finally a serious cause of water crisis in Iran.