Book Launch: Weaponizing Water by Marcus King
Join Dr. Marcus King and the Mortara Center for International Studies in discussing his upcoming book, Weaponizing Water: Water Stress and Islamic Extremist Violence in Africa and the Middle East (Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2023). The discussion will be moderated by Dr. Marwa Daoudy.
Book Description
Drought, lack of access, poor quality … water supplies are in jeopardy across Africa and the Middle East. These same areas are rife with conflicts involving Islamic extremist groups. Marcus King explores linkages between water stress and violent conflict by looking closely at how ISIS in Syria and Iraq, Boko Haram in Nigeria, and al-Shabaab in Somalia have weaponized water in the pursuit of political ends.
About the Author
Marcus D. King is Professor of the Practice in Environment and International Affairs in the Science and Technology in International Affairs Program (STIA) at Georgetown University’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service.
Prior to Georgetown, King was the John O. Rankin Associate Professor of International Affairs and Director of the Master of Arts in International Affairs Program at George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs. Dr. King previously served as Director of Research and Associate Research Professor.
Dr. King also draws on experience from a number of governmental and non-governmental organizations including as research analyst at CNA Corporation’s Center for Naval Analyses, as Research Director of the Sustainable Energy Institute, and Senior Manager for Energy and Security Programs at a private consultancy. He has held Presidential appointments in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, where he represented the United States for negotiation of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, and the Office of the Secretary of Energy.
Dr. King maintains expertise in areas including environmental security, climate change and conflict and transnational security. His present research focuses on identifying ties between water scarcity and large-scale violence. His most recent book is “Water and Conflict in the Middle East” (Oxford University Press, 2020). King is Vice Chairman of the Council on Strategic Risks and a member of the Center for Climate and Security’s Advisory Board.
About the Moderator
Dr. Marwa Daoudy is an Associate Professor of International Relations at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service (SFS) and the Seif Ghobash Chair in Arab Studies at the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies (CCAS). Prior to Georgetown University, Dr. Daoudy was a lecturer at Oxford University (UK) in the department of Politics and International Relations, a fellow of Oxford’s Middle East Center at St Antony’s College and a visiting scholar at Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.
This event will be held on a hybrid basis. If attending in person, please RSVP below. If attending virtually, please find the Zoom link here.