The article argues that the post-Cold War era of U.S. unipolarity, established by the perceived invincibility demonstrated during the Gulf War, has ended. This decline is driven by globalization and technological diffusion, which have democratized advanced military capabilities, allowing regional actors to challenge major powers. Consequently, policymakers must prepare for a more volatile international order marked by frequent crises, heightened costs for securing global trade chokepoints, and reduced predictability from American power. The new rules dictate that great powers can no longer effortlessly impose their will through force.
How global trade can drive fair and sustainable water use
English Summary
Chatham House argues that global trade should be treated as a policy lever for water security, not just a source of pressure on freshwater systems. The event rationale points to recent drought-linked disruptions, including higher prices for grains, olive oil, and chocolate and constraints on major shipping routes such as the Panama Canal and Rhine River, as evidence that water risk is already material to economies. It reasons that climate warming and volatility will intensify these risks across water-intensive supply chains unless water is valued as a shared transboundary resource. Strategically, it implies governments, firms, and investors should coordinate importer-exporter standards for fair water footprints, embed water risk in investment decisions, and pursue governance reforms that expand clean-water access and ecosystem restoration.
中文摘要
查塔姆研究所主張，全球貿易應被視為促進水安全的政策槓桿，而非僅是對淡水系統施加壓力的來源。該活動說明指出，近期與乾旱相關的中斷——包括穀物、橄欖油與巧克力價格上漲，以及巴拿馬運河與萊茵河等主要航運路線受限——顯示水風險已對經濟造成實質影響。其論證認為，若不將水視為跨境共享資源並予以合理定價，氣候暖化與波動性將在高耗水供應鏈中加劇這些風險。在策略層面，這意味著政府、企業與投資人應協調進出口國標準以建立公平的用水足跡、將水風險納入投資決策，並推動治理改革，以擴大潔淨用水可及性與生態系復育。
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