ABSTRACT
The assumption that environmental scarcity leads to interstate conflicts has become prevalent, notwithstanding numerous contributions putting into question this inference. Despite specific case studies’ analyses and concrete theoretical inputs, the debate on whether or not environmental scarcity is a triggering factor of conflicts still divides the academic world. Thomas Homer-Dixon is one of the pioneering authors linking environmental scarcity to conflicts. According to him, environmental scarcity embeds three dimensions: resource degradation and depletion; higher socioeconomic and demographic needs; and unequal distribution. Scarcity should be grasped as an issue of common interest, a motivation for creating regimes on shared environmental resources in order to coordinate actors’ arrangements toward rational win–win solutions. Most academics agree that resource scarcity can sometimes contribute to catalyzing existing sociopolitical tensions.
