THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY SCHREYER HONORS COLLEGEThesis • April 19th, 2010
Contract Type FiledApril 19th, 2010The decreasing global supply of freshwater and the rapidly increasing demand associated with population growth and industrialization have catapulted the global freshwater crisis into the political spotlight. Research regarding transboundary freshwater scarcity and its relationship with conflict and cooperation is a relatively recent focus of political science yet has been studied from many angles. However, the nature of the agreements drafted between states sharing the scarce water is understudied, especially when viewed from the lens of power parity. I explore the effects of power parity on the fairness of the agreements drafted between nations. More specifically, since a relatively powerful nation can have considerable leverage during the agreement process, I expect that a large power differential leads to unfair agreements that favor the more powerful country. I look at two cases, the USA-Mexico border consisting of the Rio Grande and Colorado basins, and the Nile Basin. Intervening