Can “integrated water resources management” silence Malthusian concerns? The case of Central Asia

The debate on international water problems is split between the analytical perspective of International Relations (IR) and related social sciences, on the one hand, and prescriptive, problem-solving contributions, on the other hand. This article explores how these separate discourses can link up productively by scrutinizing the example of Central Asia, especially the Aral Sea basin. Most water conflicts there – pointed out by IR “Malthusian” analyses – could be handled effectively by adopting IWRM principles for water management. However, both IR approaches and prescriptive concepts like IWRM need to be complemented by a profound knowledge of domestic politics within affected states if they are to identify realistic ways for solving water scarcity problems.