Mia Tamarin

Research Project

Project Title: Virtual Water: The political economy of (water) conflict pacification in international law

Description of the project: My research takes as its starting point the concept of virtual water (VW) – a term originally coined to describe the trade in water-intensive products – in order to analyse power relations in international law. VW ‘trade’ allows powerful economies to tap into others’ water resources. By importing VW, water scarcity is overcome and water resource-sharing is ‘pacified’. Informed by insights from the field of political economy, I aim to scrutinise the genealogy of VW scholarship and its influence on policy-making as an instrument for achieving water security and the management of water conflicts. Paying attention to the intricacies of water use, management and VW ‘trade’, as these bear on ‘security’ concerns, my thesis asks who is benefiting and how in the Israeli-Palestinian case, that is, in the context of a military occupation.