MIKE MULLERM, Visiting Adjunct Professor, University of the Witwatersrand OVER the past decade, observers have watched with trepidation as tensions increased between Egypt and Ethiopia over the construction of the Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile River. Egyptian politicians have publicly threatened war to defend what they see as their existential interest – Egypt’s right to use most of the Nile’s water. Over 80% of the water that reaches Egypt comes from Ethiopia. It has been suggested that Egypt has been encouraging separatist movements in Ethiopia to weaken Ethiopia’s government and discourage the project. Egypt has long defended…