The Posterior Battlefield: Will Water Replace Oil as the World’s Most Altercated Resource?

BIPSS Research Intern Naima Jinat explores in this commentary whether water will be the next
most contested resource after states be through with their strategic competition and fight for oil.
This commentary describes that the strategic importance of water is rapidly increasing, and
scarcity, geographical dependence and distributional inequality- all are responsible for this. The
commentary also holds the argument that the strategic significance alone does not create the
potential for conflict, climate change plays here a role as well. In addition, it argues that oil and
water are not being compared because they are economically identical, but because both can
influence national security, regional stability and the balance of power. The commentary
concludes that the international community can strengthen cooperation to prevent war over
water, before freshwater scarcity becomes severe enough to redefine geopolitical priorities.