The myth of water wars: a hydropolitical economy of conflict and cooperation

Although scholars and policymakers alike have predicted the outbreak of water wars in recent decades, violent interstate conflicts over scarce water resources have yet to materialize. I make the case in that such dire forecasts fundamentally stem from a flawed conceptualization of water as a nonsubstitutable, zero-sum resource. Building on the concept of virtual water (the water embedded in the food a country imports) as a substitute for actual water resources, I introduce the concept of hydrovulnerability to describe a given states economic capacity to cope with the challenges of water scarcity. Furthermore, I go on to argue that the political economy of virtual water plays a significant role in determining why some international river basins are characterized by ongoing disputes over fair and equitable distribution, whereas others have taken important steps toward cooperation. To test this theory, I compare two case studies: the Tigris-Euphrates and Nile river basins.