Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1
Political Science Dept, Faculty of Administrative Sciences and Economy
2
Associate Professor of political science Dept. University of Isfahan
10.22034/igq.2026.562455.2133
Abstract
Climate change in the Middle East, through rising temperatures, declining precipitation, intensifying droughts, depletion of surface and groundwater resources, and degradation of agricultural land, has weakened the livelihood security of water-dependent communities and contributed to internal and cross-border displacement. Drawing on political ecology, this study views climate migration as the outcome of interconnected environmental pressures, weak water governance, unequal access to resources, declining agricultural livelihoods, and geopolitical competition over shared resources. In its analytical model, rising temperatures, drought, reduced rainfall, declining river flows, and expanding dust storms constitute the independent variable; livelihood vulnerability, weak water governance, war, and unequal resource access operate as mediating and moderating variables; and rural-to-urban migration, internal displacement, and cross-border migration are treated as migration outcomes. These relationships are assessed through a structured comparison of Iran, Iraq, and Syria and by tracing how climatic pressures are transformed into livelihood crises and migration decisions. Because statistical data differ considerably across the three cases, the study does not calculate a correlation coefficient. Instead, it evaluates the relationship as weak, moderate, or strong based on the temporal precedence of climatic pressures, evidence of disruption to water resources and livelihoods, and recorded migration outcomes. The findings show a strong relationship in Iraq and a moderate-to-strong relationship in Iran and Syria. War and insecurity intensify this relationship in Syria, while weak water governance and transboundary factors play a major role in Iran and Iraq.
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