WATER RESOURCES AS A GEO-ECONOMIC TOOL FOR STRENGTHENING THE ECONOMIC POWER OF STATES

Competition over the use of water resources is growing worldwide and causes a lot of conflict between countries or regions. But hydropolitical issues and their implications for transboundary and regional conflicts, which affect water distribution, are undervalued. The main causes of conflicts in this direction are presented in the context of water scarcity. However, water scarcity does not necessarily lead to transboundary water conflicts; Instead, the main reason may be a geoeconomic factor such as power asymmetry. The article presents water resources as an element of geoeconomics and a tool in the context of strengthening the power of countries and describes the nature of water conflict and cooperation. The article also discusses how “water conflicts” can be resolved and outlines future directions that can be taken to resolve transboundary water conflicts.