Water Security: A Discursive Analysis

Abstract

Water resources continue to attract considerable attention and have increasingly become a significant feature of the world security environment. In order to locate water in the security continuum, it is necessary to revisit the debate on the traditional and non-traditional aspects of security. On the one hand, notions and images often conjured up when water issue is highlighted are often associated with concerns like national survival, inter and intrastate tension and the likelihood of “water wars” - the ‘securitisation’ of water. On the other hand, the security discourse also examines the necessity to ‘desecuritise’ water-related problems so as to reduce perception of threat and facilitate negotiations.

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Notes on contributors

Uttam Kumar Sinha

Dr Uttam Kumar Sinha is Associate Fellow at IDSA.