Exploring the Nexus between Resource-Scarcity and Violent Conflict in Pakistan

Abstract

The quintessential consideration of the resource-scarcity and violent conflict relationship is crucial as the increasing scarcity of the natural resources globally is expected to result into a fierce competition among the states and may escalate into violent conflicts. This paper underscores the significant factors contributing to the intra-stare violent conflicts in Pakistan based on the global environmental flashpoints and uses the qualitative methodology to explore the issues of structural scarcity and ecological marginalization in Pakistan. Furthermore, the document analysis technique has been used to review the literature on environmentally-induced conflicts and to evaluate the tendency of escalation of inter-state conflicts between Pakistan and India. The paper also explores the ‘water wars rationale’ by evaluating the water discourse in Pakistan and India and maintains that the issue of water scarcity in both states has the tendency to escalate into a “water war” that would be first of its kind and will have serious consequences for the regional and international peace.