SCARPERATION:
THE ROLE OF SCARCITY IN FOSTERING COOPERATION BETWEEN
INTERNATIONAL RIVER RIPARIANS
Introduction
Among the trans-boundary environmental problems susceptible of empirical study,
freshwater is unique in that similar problems occur throughout the world. While there is
only one ozone depletion game, and climate change leads to a single outcome, numerous
international freshwater problems share similar features.
As such, when rivers and other bodies of water transverse or divide countries, trans-
boundary externalities often end in conflict. At the same time, conflict almost always
provides the impetus for cooperation, and cooperation is most regularly codified in
international treaties. Therefore, common regimes, corresponding to the many freshwater
problems, can be analyzed and compared empirically.
The empirical approach to water conflicts is facilitated by the 261 documented
international river basins, 176 of which are shared by just two states (Wolf, Natharius,
Danielson, Ward and Pender, 1999: 424). Similarly, records of agreements’ texts that
correspond to the different rivers may be obtained from different depositories. Thus, the
available data pertaining to an extensive number of international rivers make the inferring of
various hypotheses across a large amount of observations possible. It allows for a more
robust empirical approach to the study of hydropolitics, largely dominated by the case study
approach.
In an attempt to explain the emergence of water agreements between riparian states,
previous studies have already endeavored to explain the emergence of treaties over shared
rivers. Espey and Towfique (2004) and Song and Whittington (2004) explored the
emergence of international freshwater treaties using treaty/no treaty patterns. Although this
study continues in the spirit of the aforementioned research agendas it is different in the data
it brings to bare, the methodology used, and most importantly the theory and hypotheses
developed to explain treaty formation and the extent of cooperation.
Convention