This study highlights the complex interplay of water security, climate change, and geopolitics surrounding transboundary rivers in South Asia, particularly focussing upon India, China, and Pakistan. It reveals how damming for hydroelectricity and strategic control turns water resources into geopolitical leverage, complicating governance and regional stability.
Authors
Hari Godara, Jindal School of International Affairs, O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat, Haryana, India
Jyoti M. Pathania, Jindal School of International Affairs, O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat, Haryana, India
Gaurav Kumar, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Jain (Deemed-to-be University), Bangalore, Karnataka, India
Summary
Transboundary rivers raise critical concerns for state security amidst contemporary ecological strain and regional geopolitics in South Asia. The challenge of ‘water security’ is underscored by the substantial reliance on transboundary rivers, compounded by the multifaceted impacts of climate change and the simmering geopolitical tensions among riparian nations, especially in the complex dynamics between India–China and India–Pakistan. This study endeavours to illuminate distinctive characteristics of the South Asian transboundary governance framework, wherein rivers are subjected to intensive damming aimed at (a) harnessing hydroelectric potential and (b) leveraging water resources as geopolitical bargaining chips, thereby exerting pressure; however, order is not specified, particularly. In this intricate milieu, international conventions often fail to reconcile internal contradictions inherent within the transboundary governance paradigm. Consequently, transboundary water resources have metamorphosed into an extension of geopolitical realities, embodying intricate interplay between hydrology, geopolitics and state security within the region, especially between China, India and Pakistan.
Published in: Journal of Asian Security and International Affairs
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