Beyond Resource Wars

Common wisdom holds that the earth's dwindling natural resources and increasingenvironmental degradation will inevitably lead to inter-state conflict, and possibly even set off"resource wars." Many scholars and policymakers have considered the environmental roots ofviolent conflict and instability, but little attention has been paid to the idea that scarcity anddegradation may actually play a role in fostering inter-state cooperation. Beyond Resource Warsfills this gap, offering a different perspective on the links between environmental problems andinter-state conflict. Although the contributors do not deny that resource scarcity and environmentaldegradation may become sources of contention, they argue that these conditions also provide theimpetus for cooperation, coordination, and negotiation between states. The book examines aspects ofenvironmental conflict and cooperation in detail, across a number of natural resources and issuesincluding oil, water, climate change, ocean pollution, and biodiversity conservation. Thecontributors argue that increasing scarcity and degradation generally induce cooperation acrossstates, but when conditions worsen (and a problem becomes too costly or a resource becomes tooscarce), cooperation becomes more difficult. Similarly, low levels of scarcity may discouragecooperation because problems seem less urgent. With contributions from scholars in internationalrelations, economics, and political science, Beyond Resource Wars offers a comprehensive and robustinvestigation of the links among scarcity, environmental degradation, cooperation, andconflict

Shlomi Dinar is Associate Professor in the Department of Politics and International Relations at Florida International University.