Mikhalev A.V. Struggle for water: the prospects of hydro-conflicts in Innermost Asia

Abstract: The study is focused on the problem of hydro-conflicts in Innermost Asia. The research object is the geopolitical situation in the region after the collapse of the Soviet Union which had led to the revision of the established models of state-to-state relations. Therefore, the research subject is the process of political struggle for water and energy resources. The chronological context of the research is the post-Socialist period, i.e. the period of deconstruction of the system of interrelations, established during the period of a large-scale Soviet presence in this region. The research methodology is based on event-analysis. This method includes the policy study via the successive consideration of events. The scientific novelty of the study consists in two theses: firstly, this study is one of the first attempts to consider the problem of building the water power plant in the Selenga river valley in its political rather than ecological aspect; secondly, geopolitical problems in Innermost Asia are for the first time considered in the context of water and energy resources allocation. 

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