Enviro journalist & researcher, think tanker @ The Wilson Center & @ Center for Climate & Security, Author of 'The Heat and the Fury: On the Frontlines of Climate Violence'
published on The Wilson Quarterly on Oct 28, 2022
Water scarcity, water fluctuations, and the threat of more of both are pushing states to re-work their approaches to resources. But to what end?
For years, many Middle Eastern states have engaged in high stakes, if generally haphazard, forms of water strategizing. Intent on guaranteeing their water futures amid fluctuations in access—and periodicscarcity, these countries have adopted unique and varyingly successful approaches to water security. The consequences have often been dramatic, helping to reshape everything from national narratives and (unlikely-looking) inter-state alliances to many of the region’s battered rural economies and landscapes.
Much of this phenomenon smacks of “old school” water securitization—and among some of the more militarily powerful and geographically blessed states there’s been plenty of that. Yet this maneuvering in the face of threats real or exaggerated isn’t limited to an out and out pursuit of resources.
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