Food and water scarcity – A key factor in future conflicts?

The extended concept of security means that many additional factors now influence security policy considerations. These factors include food and water scarcity and the interrelationship between this problem and existing conflict potential. The present study will address this issue in the context of the water-food-energy-climate nexus. It will outline global trends and, by focusing on the example of water scarcity and a number of relevant cases, will show that conflicts do not necessarily have to be aggravated but can also be dealt with, to a certain extent, in a multilateral, cooperative way. Progressing climate change will lead to greater challenges in this area, but they will remain firstly humanitarian, development policy and climate policy challenges and only secondly security challenges.