Water, Security and U.S. Foreign Policy

The seminal message of Water, Security and U.S. Foreign Policy is that both U.S. prosperity and national security are under rising pressure resulting from the economic and social impacts caused by water scarcity, extreme weather events and water-driven ecological change in key geographies around the world.   Those water-driven stresses are, with greater frequency, undermining economic productivity, weakening governance systems and fraying social cohesion.  Water scarcity has created a context of human and societal need wherein water stress has undermined the vitality of rural livelihoods, driven broad migratory movements, become a weapon of war, contributed to the growth of insurgencies and terrorist networks and given rise to increased demand for U.S. development, humanitarian and military assistance.