Shared Rivers and Interstate Conflict – Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO)

This research paper examines the relationship between shared river systems and interstate conflict, utilizing data added to the Correlates of War contiguity dataset. While the study finds that sharing a river increases the probability of militarized disputes and armed conflict beyond simple contiguity, it notes that this risk factor is smaller than the effect of contiguity itself.

• Sharing a river system increases the likelihood of militarized disputes and armed conflict, though this effect is less significant than the impact of mere contiguity. The study identifies that the upstream-downstream relationship is the specific type of shared river most frequently linked to conflict, and water scarcity is also associated with conflict, although these specific results are not considered very strong.
• There are more than 200 river systems shared by two or more countries, many of which do not have enforceable agreements for sharing water.

APA

Peace Research Institute Oslo (2000). Shared Rivers and Interstate Conflict – Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO). https://www.prio.org/publications/670

Chicago

Peace Research Institute Oslo. Shared Rivers and Interstate Conflict – Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO). 2000. https://www.prio.org/publications/670.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Peace Research Institute Oslo |title=Shared Rivers and Interstate Conflict – Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) |date=1 January 2000 |url=https://www.prio.org/publications/670 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{peaceresearchinstituteoslo2000shared, author = {{Peace Research Institute Oslo}}, title = {{Shared Rivers and Interstate Conflict – Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO)}}, institution = {Peace Research Institute Oslo}, year = {2000}, month = jan, url = {https://www.prio.org/publications/670}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }