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The researchers observed a systematic link between the sudden depletion of water resources and the outbreak of unrest. The findings, which underline the importance of the role of political institutions in the event of a drought, can be read in the Journal of Environmental Economics and Management.
Several case studies have reported that drought provokes tensions in the affected population. But is there a systematic link between drought and riots? Most of the data used in the research has been too aggregated until now to provide an accurate answer: researchers based their analyses on figures indicating the average amount of rainfall for each country over a year and the manifestation of unrest in the same year per country.
The first is population density: the more densely populated a region is, the greater the need for water.
The study shows the systematic and immediate link between droughts and rioting. Professor Lucchetti concludes: "We now have to use this data to examine in detail what mechanisms could be put in place by political institutions to avoid riots, such as setting up redistribution systems in areas affected by drought."