Water and National Security: Water Insecurity, Conflict, and the Mekong River Dispute with Courtney Weatherby

This week, A'ndre spoke with Courtney Weatherby, the Deputy Director of the Stimson Center’s Southeast Asia Program and a Research Analyst with the Energy, Water, & Sustainability program, on the intersection of water insecurity and conflict, with a particular focus on the Mekong River Dispute. Courtney discusses the connection between water and national security, and how water insecurity, while not often a direct driver of war, can be a tension point underlying a broader conflict. We briefly discuss how countries approach the sharing of water resources, and why energy security and food security are vitally linked to water security. We then focus on the Mekong River Dispute, talking about how China's actions in building dams on the river have affected countries downstream, leading to significant tensions.