China’s soaring economy, fueled by an unyielding appetite for coal, is threatened by the country's steadily diminishing freshwater reserves. The United States faces similar water-energy confrontations—over millions of gallons of water are taken from ranchers to develop the deep oil and gas shale reserves of the west and there are battles between Georgia and Florida over diminishing drinking water reserves. Global Choke Point, though, is not necessarily a narrative of doom and gloom. The presentations will examine both the challenges and opportunities presented by these looming choke points.

Join us as we mark the Year of Water Cooperation with a discussion of tools, approaches, and mechanisms that advance global transboundary water cooperation. Over 260 watersheds are shared by two or more states, and 40 percent of the world’s population shares critical water supplies with another country. Although the world has largely avoided conflict over water, increasing population, economic, and climate change pressures could increase tensions over these shared resources making multi-country cooperation on water all the more essential.

This conference addressed the economic and geopolitical implications of increased connectivity and cooperation resulting from large infrastructure projects in the Caucasus region. Speakers included representatives from the Embassies of Azerbaijan and Georgia, as well as industry, think tank and U.S. government experts. Cosponsored by the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security. Video from the event is now available.

While there has been much research on the effect of valuable natural resource extraction on a state’s domestic development (e.g., the “resource curse”), Wilson Center Fellow Jeff Colgan focuses on how natural resource extraction affects foreign policy. In 'Petro-Aggression: When Oil Causes War,' Colgan finds that “petrostates” – countries where revenue from oil exports exceeds 10 percent of GDP – are twice as likely to engage in inter-state conflict than non-petrostates.