“Water Wars” as a Source and Instrument of International Conflicts

   Water resource shortage is one of the global problems of our time. The article presents the results of studies of international conflicts due to the lack of fresh water, and analyzes the possible consequences of the growing crisis that may affect the world political system. The prerequisites for the emergence of water conflicts on the political map of the world and the most informative indicators that make it possible to judge the conflict potential between countries (the share of transit river flow, the level of use of water resources and the degree of climate aridity) are considered. The existing and predicted geo-ecological consequences caused by the degradation of water bodies and the deterioration of the water resource situation in the context of weakening research cooperation between neighboring states are analyzed. Successful examples of solving problems in the field of water use based on the basin approach, both between entities of the same state and between individual countries, are considered.