Hydropolitics in South American International Relations: A Perspective on Water Governance at the Prata Basin – Between Conflict and Cooperation (1960–1992)

There was a slow but progressive, and welcome, desecuritization of a particularly sensitive issue in the international relations of the Southern Cone. In relation to shared rivers, a relevant fact is that only a quarter of them have their use regulated by effective international treaties. South America stands out because its 38 shared basins represent one of the largest reserves of freshwater in the world, approximately 26 percent of the total available. The arid and semi-arid regions of the Middle East, Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia concentrate the most critical water stress levels or absolute scarcity of water. Shared waters have the potential of generating highly complex relations, as the actions of one country can undermine the interests of its neighbors. A panoramic look over the scenarios of international hydropolitics signals us that there are regions where water resources emerge, under the terms of the School of Copenhagen.