The Resource Wars: Understanding the Geopolitical Landscape of Water, Energy, Minerals and Knowledge

The geopolitical landscape of the world is shaped by access to vital resources such as water, energy, minerals, and knowledge. These elements play a crucial role in determining the resilience of regions around the world, and their scarcity or over-dependence can fuel conflicts that are on the rise. In order to understand and predict these future lines of conflict, it is necessary to delve into geopolitics and resource scarcity.

Water and food have historically been sources of conflict, as seen in clashes between states along major rivers or pastoralists versus farmers. However, local wars over water resources highlight the need for cross-border cooperation and international agreements to prevent existential hardships. It is evident that water resources are unevenly distributed around the world, with countries like Brazil, Russia, the USA, and Canada having significant shares of renewable water resources compared to their population, while nations in the Middle East and parts of Africa face water scarcity.

Energy consumption has risen significantly in recent years, leading to heavy dependency on energy imports for many industrialized nations. Countries like China, Russia, and the USA are major players in the energy market, with diverse levels of self-sufficiency. The production of industrial goods and technologies relies heavily on metals and minerals, which are often sourced from specific regions of the world. Latin America, Australia, and Africa are key suppliers of minerals