Introduction: Resource scarcity between conflict and cooperation

Abstract

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book talks about the relationship between what are perceived to be scarce natural resources and the tendency for access to them to lead to international conflict or cooperation. The diversity of forms and levels of engagement with resource scarcity and its implications for international relations poses particular problems when one attempts to provide a summary, but insightful, overview to those with more general interests in scarcity or politics. The scarcity of resources and the likelihood of such scarcity leading to international conflict is a common feature of public discourse and speculation. The potential for scarcity to initiate forms of international collaboration or cooperation is a much less common element of how we understand the world. In a global context framed by increasing attention to environmental issues and concerns readily appreciated international implications.