Water, Peace, and War Confronting the Global Water Crisis [Paperback]

This book argues that even though water is of fundamental importance to humans, we have undervalued it and have therefore failed to create institutional mechanisms at the international level to ensure its prudent use. This argument is developed in detail in five chapters, considering both the scientific and political implications of water use. Chellaney (Center for Policy Research, New Delhi) notes the geopolitical impacts of water shortages on the frequently bellicose behavior of Israel and its neighbors. The author then provides a credible account of the ways in which China has become an unprecedented water hegemon. The reader learns that China's unabated dam building has allowed it to control the headwaters of several international rivers and manipulate their cross-border flows. Therefore, concerted external pressure is needed to get Beijing to accept some form of institutionalized cooperation. The author concludes that in order to prevent water-based conflicts, a set of international rules, cooperative institutional mechanisms, and environmentally sustainable water management solutions will be needed. Chellaney's attempts to draw causal connections between water and actual problems can sometimes be questioned, but his book, while occasionally repetitive, provides a lucid account of the nexuses between water security and world peace. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readership levels.When the word war is mentioned, most people conjure images of blood, bullets, and violent clashes over land and oil. Hence, fighting a war over something as apparently abundant as water sounds almost surreal, and yet there are places in the world right now where nonshooting battles are already being waged over this precious resource. According to international-affairs authority Chellaney, its only a matter of time before tanks roll and lives are lost in countries struggling to secure enough water for their citizens. Unless, of course, the world community finds a way to ensure thil#!