The water crisis of the 21st century: the next strategic front line

Abstract

The aim of this article is to present, within a theoretical and conceptual framework, how water has become a factor of strategic importance and security policy significance in the 21st century, moving away from being a „common” natural resource. Using the conceptual framework of water security, securitization, hydropolitics, and hydro-hegemony, it systematizes contemporary security discourses on water, which argue that water appears as a „threat multiplier” at the intersection of climate, food, and energy systems, thus forming a new front line in global and regional security architecture. The article analyzes the securitization process of water issues, the power relations of transboundary water systems, and the nexus of water, economy, and security of supply, highlighting that water is no longer merely an environmental or development policy issue, but a structuring factor of national and collective security that opens up new dimensions of geopolitical rivalry and conflict management. This realization prompted me to examine the topic in theoretical depth.