Research

The International Centre for Water Cooperation generates new knowledge and ideas through empirical research together with strategic partners.

How do countries cooperate over shared water resources? Under which circumstances can environmental challenges be turned into opportunities for collaboration? What is the role of formal mechanisms for transboundary water cooperation? Can gender equality make peace processes more durable?

Questions like these are in focus at the International Centre for Water Cooperation. The research results are shared with target audiences and the general public through reports, peer-reviewed articles, and policy briefs. ICWC also compiles existing knowledge and produces syntheses of available research for easy access and use by political and technical actors.

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This is ICWC

ICWC is the first UNESCO Category II centre focused on water cooperation for peace and regional development.

About ICWC
Ethiopia Water and Landscape Governance programmeOne of the many positive results was a completed stakeholder analysis for landscape restoration at Hawassa sub basin level

Critical analysis

The Research School for International Cooperation, hosted by the Department of Peace and Conflict Research at Uppsala University, plays an important role within the International Centre for Water Cooperation. The Research School conducts in-depth research on water cooperation in its broadest sense with a primary focus on water for peace and development.

By critically analyzing existing research on the linkage between water scarcity and international conflict and cooperation, the Research School has furthered our understanding of the mechanisms behind water as a bridge between parties sharing the resource. The research objective necessitates an interdisciplinary approach and collaborative understanding of the water management and its contribution to peace and development.

The research school is led by Ashok Swain, Professor of Peace and Conflict Research at Uppsala University.

The Research School for International Water Cooperation

The Research School for International Water Cooperation aims to address water cooperation in its broadest sense with a primary focus on water for peace and development. By critically analyzing existing research on the linkage between water scarcity and international conflict, and cooperation it improves our understanding of the mechanisms behind water-induced peace.

The research school has been established at the Department of Peace and Conflict Research at Uppsala University as part of ICWC. The first PhD was completed in 2020 with two additional dissertations being finalized in 2021.

Learn more about the Research School