Megatrend Revija (Jan 2018)
Water safety from the national security aspect
Abstract
In this paper, the focus is on the problem of availability and access to fresh water from the aspect of stability of political communities and relations that are developing internationally, related to fresh water. The subject is problematized, starting from the assumption that water has become a global problem and one of the most soughtafter commodity, and thus necessarily, along with the internal, stimulating the relations between the states in which it is located or which it is flowing through. The problematized task is approached through analysing the functional relations that are being developed on the basis of using water in the function of politics and using its accessibility and importance as an instrument in external relations. In this context, the normative conceptualisation of the individual's rights to water in the international order is analysed. The obtained results indicate that in conditions of international legal uncertainty of exploitation and protection of fresh water and bureaucratic international environment, relations between societies and foreign policy decisions are affected by the stability of availability and access to national water resources. Such findings provide a basis for the conclusion that the stability of availability and access to water represents not only the basic value in terms of lifeessential substance, but also of the political community, that is the interest of national security. In this context, the aim of this paper is to suggest the necessity of a national approach to the management of fresh water as a collective good of the political community, until the international legal regime for its fair and sustainable use and access is established, and the duty of state is enforced to ensure its integrity and protection in accordance with the international obligations, with the protection of sovereignty of available resources.
