Resource Scarcity and Prospects for Cooperation in Developing Regions

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue will bring together research that challenges traditional analyses that claim that resource scarcities of various kinds stifle development, increase tension and competition within and between countries, and ultimately lead to violent conflict. The purpose of this Special Issue is to explore the ways in which communities at the local, national and international levels are able to respond to resource scarcities through dialogue, constructive engagement and cooperation. Various types of resource scarcities are considered including, but not restricted to: Freshwater, fossil fuel, arable land and food scarcities. It is the intention of this Special Issue to draw upon a diverse range of methodological approaches and theoretical frameworks of analysis to produce an eclectic overarching analysis that provides critical and compelling conclusions on the prospects for cooperative sustainable development in a world that is increasingly experiencing resource scarcities. As such, work that draws on quantitative, qualitative and mixed-methods approaches are welcome, as is research that employs traditional or alternative theoretical approaches.

While more advanced countries, such as those in the so-called triad of North America, Europe and East Asia experience significant resource scarcities, they have greater capacity to successfully respond on their own. More captivating test cases of cooperative sustainable development are to be found in less developed regions of the world where states, and local communities, often have more limited financial and technological capacity to respond to resource scarcities. Therefore, identifying where and explaining how cooperation and constructive engagement takes place in South America, Sub-Saharan Africa, North Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, and East Asia will help us better understand how resource scarcities are likely to impact on economic development, domestic politics and international relations in the future. Work that focuses on these regions is particularly welcome.

Dr. Imad El-Anis
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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• Resource Scarcity
• Conflict
• Cooperation
• Institutionalism
• Bilateral and Multilateral Relations