In Over Their Heads? Measuring the Severity of Transboundary Freshwater Conflict
Publisher: Western Political Science Association 2010 Annual Meeting Paper
Author(s): Jason Brozek
Date: 2010
Topics: Conflict Causes, Renewable Resources
Freshwater is a critical natural resource, and management of transboundary freshwater resources is a particularly difficult task for riparians. As observers of water politics, however, we lack a metric to classify and compare the severity of these transboundary freshwater conflicts. Is a military confrontation more likely to happen between Israel and Jordan over the Jordan River, or between India and Pakistan over the Chenab? Is more likely that China will use force over access to the Mekong, or Namibia over the Kunene? This paper develops and tests a metric of severity using environmental, political, and economic data from over two hundred transboundary rivers, lakes, and aquifers.