Social Identity and Construction of Conflict in Shared Water Resources Systems

The role of social components on socio-hydrological water interactions is one of the key elements and essential requirements for study and understanding complex water systems. Different cultural characteristics and diversity of identities in human societies have led to the development of diverse attitudes and values for dealing with water problems. Despite the considerable importance of the role of social identity on water interactions including conflict and cooperation, this issue has been seriously neglected in conflict management in water systems. This research gap has led to the hypothesis of the present study which states that there is a direct, mutual and dynamic relationship between social identity and the formation of water conflicts. The main purpose of this study is to investigate the role of social identity on water conflicts over shared and transboundary river basins. For this purpose, a systematic review of relevant resources in various databases was conducted. According to the results, conflict is an inherent and intrinsic characteristic in water systems. Besides, the social identity and destructive / constructive water conflicts are in a mutual and complex relationship. The polarized of social identities in a river basin will exacerbate the potential of water conflict. However, the effort to create a collective identity can lead to cooperation among stakeholders as well as effective dealing with water conflicts in shared and transboundary river basins.