The Impact of Water Weaponization on Human Security: A Case Study in the Sahel

Abstract

Climate change and armed conflict are two concepts that are increasingly linked together in today's world, and even more so in regions where natural resources are already scarce to begin with. This research aims to give perspective on one of the phenomena that takes advantage of both armed conflict as well as climate change: water weaponization. King's (2023) framework of water weaponization is used to analyse whether this has an impact on the human security in the Sahel region in Africa. The human security theory is used in order to provide a much-needed personal perspective of this increasingly popular nexus. Through discourse and content analysis on NGO output, this research strives towards answering the following question: How does the weaponization of climate change impact human security in the Sahel according to NGOs? After a thorough analysis of the documents, it is concluded that food security seems to be most impacted by water weaponization in the Sahel. However, since the scholarship on the topic is still very limited, more research is needed in order to draw more valid conclusions.