Exploring friendship in hydropolitics: The case of the friendship dam on the Asi/Orontes river

“Friendship dams” are an explicit, yet underexplored, materialization of hydropolitics that illustrate the potential role of water in international cooperation. Via a case study analysis of the Syria‐Turkey Friendship Dam project proposed for the Asi/Orontes river, we trace the process of cooperation that led to the use of this notion of “friendship” in transboundary cooperation. Using a transversal analysis of different phases of cooperation and non‐cooperation, we consider broad, big‐picture political and diplomatic factors related to water and beyond. Our analysis shows that two key variables shaped how water was used as an instrument of cooperation in this case: (1) security and (2) the dynamics of international cooperation undertaken by the riparians, namely Turkey. The friendship dam label can be considered a manifestation of strategic international friendship that the two riparian countries invoked to achieve security and bilateral cooperation.