Water, Food, and Energy: Understanding Geopolitical Resilience in the Age of Resource Scarcity

Resource scarcity and geopolitical resilience are crucial factors that determine the stability of regions around the world. In today’s conflicts, multiple power centers and different geopolitical interests of global powers like the USA and China, regional powers like Russia, France, and Great Britain, and local interests fuel these conflicts. Scarce resources such as raw materials have become a source of contention among nations.

To understand future lines of conflict, it is essential to analyze geopolitics and resource scarcity in depth. Water, food, energy, minerals, metals, and knowledge are key dimensions to consider in this analysis. Historically, water and food have been sources of conflict between states along major rivers or pastoralists versus farmers. The need for cross-border cooperation and international agreements highlights the importance of these resources in preventing existential hardships.

Water resources are unevenly distributed around the world. Countries like Brazil, Russia, the USA, and Canada have significant shares of renewable water resources compared to their population while nations in the Middle East and parts of Africa face water scarcity. Energy consumption has risen significantly in recent years leading to heavy dependency on energy imports for many industrialized nations. Countries like China, Russia