THEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS OF THE CONCEPT OF THE WATER FACTOR AND ITS IMPORTANCE IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

Abstract

This article presents the role of water factor in international
relations within the framework of competitive paradigms, as well as the
application of realistic, liberal, constructive, and hybrid approaches to research.
This theoretical diversity reflects the multifaceted nature of water as a strategic
resource, and a subject of institutional partnership. Water is defined in terms such
as hydropolitics (water geopolitics), water diplomacy (bilateral or multilateral
negotiations on water issues), and water security (related to resource management
and state security issues). New concepts, such as “virtual water”, the “indirect
exchange” of water resources through international trade expand established
traditional understandings and reshape water diplomacy to stabilize trade flows
in transboundary resource management. The field of study has evolved from
the contentious issues arising from the water wars of the 1990s to a modern
civilization where water is seen as a tool for cooperation rather than conflict. In
international relations, the significance of water is not uniform but systematically
contextual. At the global level, water is not considered more important to great
powers than traditional security concerns, and some argue that “water is unlikely
to be a cause of confrontation between great powers.” However, at the regional
level, for small and medium-sized powers, especially those located in arid regions,
water is a critical factor influencing national security, economic development, and
the sustainability of the state. Contextual factors determining the role of water
include hydroclimatic conditions (water scarcity, variability), socioeconomic
factors (population density, level of development), political factors (regime
type, institutional capacity), and geographic factors (characteristics of coastal
watersheds). Based on the presented data, different theoretical frameworks
define different aspects of water resource dynamics: realism explains an order
in which strategic value and power asymmetries prevail, liberalism emphasizes
the effectiveness of institutions and models of cooperation, and constructivism
presents the water resource problem in terms of its social nature and development
concepts