Geographic Opportunity and Neomalthusian Willingness: Shared Rivers, Boundary Length, and Conflict

The research examines whether boundary length or neomalthusian factors, such as shared rivers and water scarcity, better explain the incidence of international conflict. Using a dataset covering the Correlates of War period, the authors find that while boundary length shows a significant association with conflict in bivariate analysis, this effect disappears when neomalthusian willingness measures are introduced. The results suggest that neomalthusian factors are significant, though not dramatic, in their effects on conflict.

• Neomalthusian factors, specifically shared rivers and water scarcity, are significant in their effects on international conflict, although the impact is not described as dramatic.
• Boundary length is significantly associated with conflict in bivariate analysis, but this significance is lost when neomalthusian willingness measures are included in the analysis.

APA

Furlong, K., & Gleditsch, N. P. (2003). Geographic Opportunity and Neomalthusian Willingness: Shared Rivers, Boundary Length, and Conflict. Peace Research Institute Oslo. https://www.prio.org/publications/594

Chicago

Furlong, Kathryn, and Nils Petter Gleditsch. Geographic Opportunity and Neomalthusian Willingness: Shared Rivers, Boundary Length, and Conflict. Peace Research Institute Oslo, 2003. https://www.prio.org/publications/594.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Furlong |first1=Kathryn |last2=Gleditsch |first2=Nils Petter |title=Geographic Opportunity and Neomalthusian Willingness: Shared Rivers, Boundary Length, and Conflict |publisher=Peace Research Institute Oslo |date=1 March 2003 |url=https://www.prio.org/publications/594 |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{furlong2003geographic, author = {Furlong, Kathryn and Gleditsch, Nils Petter}, title = {{Geographic Opportunity and Neomalthusian Willingness: Shared Rivers, Boundary Length, and Conflict}}, institution = {Peace Research Institute Oslo}, year = {2003}, month = mar, url = {https://www.prio.org/publications/594}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }