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E-book Global Resource Scarcity : Catalyst for Conflict or Cooperation?

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Penilaian

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As indicated by its title, this is a book 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. It is apparent from our reading of existing literature and from the contributions to this book that experts are often situated in positions that find little opportunity to engage or interact outside of academic disciplines or geographically and resource-specific practice. This 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. This book—in its structure and content—is the result of just this sort of exercise, having roots in the organisation of the 2014 University of Otago Foreign Policy School, an annual conference directed at early career staff from the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. It was soon apparent that the invited speakers (many of whom are contribu­tors to the following chapters) did not always share a similar epistemology or ontology in their treatment of scarcity, as its use ranged from that of a physical reality to an element of discourse. Whereas the implied lack of cohesion might have laid the framework for a failed conference, participants emerged with a strong sense of the common theme regarding the potential to engage or move towards cooperative relations in response to scarcity, irrespective of how it was conceived. It is on this premise that we organised the book as a collation of outwardly disparate manifestations and interrogations of ‘scarcity’ with the intention of directing our readers’ attention to the potential for international collaboration. On one hand, the scarcity of resources and the likelihood of such scarcity leading to international conflict (economic, political or military) is a common feature of public discourse and speculation. On the other, the potential for scar­city (or perceptions thereof) to initiate forms of international collaboration or cooperation is a much less common element of how we understand the world. This seems to us to be an unfortunate situation. Existing examples of international cooperation around such resources as fresh water, biodiversity conservation and ocean fisheries suggest that a common concern for the viability of a resource that extends beyond political boundaries can provide the basis for peaceful interac­tions among otherwise competing countries. It is just such positive examples that provide hope for a world that is defined less by bellicose confrontation over essential resources and more by a shared interest in the ability for greater equality in access to those resources and their societal benefits to facilitate cooperation— and potentially even peace. In the remainder of the introduction, we will provide an explanation of the pathway we have navigated in assembling this collection. It will begin with a brief engagement with some of the literature on resource scarcity and its part in international relations. This review necessarily begins with—and is dominated by—the vast literature on the threats of scarcity to humanity more generally and its potential to initiate conflict between and within countries. It concludes with more recent literature on successful experiments with collaboration and coordination of resource access and use where the location and benefits of the resource extend beyond political boundaries. We suggest that our naviga­tion of this literature helps us to get to grips with the diverse perspectives of scarcity (some more overtly stated than others) found in the chapters from our contributors. It also provides the rationale for the division of the book into three parts. This includes providing roughly parallel chapters, which present the potential tensions related to a situation of scarcity and specific examples of cooperation. We will conclude with an invitation to read the book as a whole in order to develop a broader understanding of scarcity and its relevance to international relations.

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Ketersediaan

Informasi Detail

Judul Seri

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No. Panggil

327.2 BRE g

Penerbit

USA : Taylor & Francis., 2018

Deskripsi Fisik

223 hlm

Bahasa

English

ISBN/ISSN

9781315281612

Klasifikasi

327.2

Tipe Isi

text

Tipe Media

computer

Tipe Pembawa

online resource

Edisi

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Subjek

Diplomacy

Info Detail Spesifik

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Pernyataan Tanggungjawab

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Versi lain/terkait

Lampiran Berkas

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