In an era where water scarcity and disputes over water rights increasingly shape global politics, understanding the nexus between water and peace is more critical than ever. Recent events such as the border clashes between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, or continued tensions between Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan over the Nile River’s usage, underscore the urgent need for comprehensive strategies to address both the hydrological and social dimensions of water management.

While scholarly engagement over water issues spans many disciplines, from law and economics to cultural studies and engineering, much of the research into these questions remains confined to specific audiences within traditional disciplinary boundaries. So how do we enlarge the scope of this work?

In a recent piece published in the Journal of Hydrology, we advocate for the framework of “socio-hydrology”—a concept that offers significant value in dissemination both within the core discipline of hydrology and across various branches of social sciences. Indeed, socio-hydrology can be seen as a springboard for all research concerning the social aspects of water usage.

Our exploration of socio-hydrology introduces some broad discussions about how countries share water, including both hydro-governance on the international stage as well as water allocation within countries. We also examine these questions from the perspective of peace and conflict research, which is a field that is well-placed within interdisciplinary understandings of social processes.

Defining the Concept

Socio-hydrology explores how human actions and water systems influence each other, closely examining how differences in society, power, trust, culture, and thinking affect the way people change and respond to water environments. The field creates shared ways of researching, combining knowledge from different areas to better grasp how water and society interact. Our recent paper argues that research on peace and conflicts has a contribution to make in building a better understanding of the complicated social factors related to water issues.

While there is growing agreement on the larger benefits of blending different fields of study, debates continue about the best ways to do so. How should general social science integrate with hydrology? (And vice versa.) How might water studies integrate within the social sciences, as well as into public health? Our work acknowledges that some scholars question the practicality of socio-hydrology, and suggest it may lead to further limitations on already narrow avenues of interdisciplinary work.

Further discussions about the future of socio-hydrology are essential, especially where these issues connect to large examinations of peace and conflict. Yet the clear link between water and various security (e.g. national, human, and ecological security) make the insights gleaned from peace and conflict studies inherently relevant for water research.

Water and Peace

Politics and power dynamics are woven into the fabric of our lives. This means that they also critically shape outcomes in water governance, influence whether related disputes intensify, or lead to cooperation. Effective water management extends beyond technical solutions; it also is deeply linked with social dynamics across local to international levels. How nations share and govern water can contribute to conflicts as well as peace. Thus, the insights of both socio-hydrology and peace and conflict research can be used to better manage and govern water resources.

Research on water issues highlights the fact that power dynamics play a significant role in water disputes and cooperation. When an upstream country controls the flow of a river, for instance, it can potentially have a significant impact on its downstream neighbors, and lead to tensions.

Yet research also show that through careful negotiation and the adoption of fair agreements, shared water sources can become platforms for cooperation, rather than conflict. Rivers around the world—including the Jordan, Colorado, Danube, and Zambezi rivers— offer important examples of this, even though the durability of the agreements governing these waters have been tested over time.

While basin-wide agreements are not always the right answer to resolve tensions among water sharing countries, such negotiations and institutional processes can lead to agreements that have positive impact on trust and confidence building. Thus, peaceful management of transboundary water resources can further contribute to cooperative processes that prevent conflict and contribute to lasting peace.

Water cooperation occurs on both national and local levels, and it promotes peaceful collective action across borders. In the Mekong basin, for instance, downstream governments have recently raised concerns over the impact of dams upstream. Amid the tensions this situation has created among national governments, long-running cooperation between local communities in this transboundary watershed has been strengthened through information exchange and knowledge sharing.

This local cooperation is motivated by the need to respond to livelihood and water challenges such as floods and droughts—which these communities now face due to hydropower development. Their shared activities have created an epistemic community with a critical focus on water justice. And promoting peaceful and joint water management through governance support also has contributed to positive outcomes in terms for not only these communities, but for scientific collaboration in the basin as well.

Peacebuilding transcends any mere cessation of violence. It also addresses underlying conflict drivers—including tensions over shared resources. International efforts to create peace in fragile regions often focus on state-building to provide security and governance, but as liberal peacebuilding now faces scrutiny, but it important to note that environmental aspects vital to sustaining peace are often overlooked. Socio-hydrology adds to the equation, and underlines the necessity of integrating environmental considerations into peacebuilding to obtain lasting stability.

A New Way to Connect Water and Peace

Socio-hydrology that included peace and conflict studies offers new ways to address water-related disputes. It is a simple yet powerful ideas: understanding the social dynamics around water systems can help countries can better manage conflicts and foster cooperation. Both perspectives are essential, however. Hydrologists must work on social dynamics as social scientists examine water issues. This united approach is particularly important for water-scarce regions, where the right management strategies can mean the difference between scarcity and security.

Water has historically played a crucial role in the development of nations and states, particularly through the construction of hydraulic infrastructure harnessing rivers. Scarcity and necessity have been key factors in driving collaborative projects.

Some major rivers have come to represent national identities, and create a unifying effect on populations. Thus, cooperation along these major rivers can be culturally and politically salient. For example, cooperation along the Rhine River likely laid the groundwork for what is now the European Union. Collaborations regarding the Senegal, Lake Chad, and Zambezi rivers have facilitated various cooperative endeavors among adjacent countries. Cooperative management of the Colorado, Columbia, and Limpopo rivers has created significant positive impacts on the relationships between their respective basin states.

As water consumption and demand are increasing in the light of climate change and population growth, further insights from socio-hydrologists are vital. It also could spark further collaboration on water research across disciplines, as water availability has an impact on cooperation at the international, national and individual level.

Managing water sustainably is about more than engineering and economics—it also must address the human element. Doing so can help develop strategies that lead to more sustainable and equitable use of water, helping to avert potential crises before they arise. Turning conflict into cooperation where water issues arise can ensure a more sustainable, peaceful, and secure future.