Is the United States Water-Friendly? Water as a (Not) Vital US National Interest

The main aim of the paper is to present the general attitude of the United States(US) to the problem of access to water. This multi-level analysis addresses a range of issues. At the beginning, it is important to highlight the inconsistent water policy in American state and federal regulations. This is due to the hypothesis proposed here – that the US has an ambivalent attitude to water internationally, which is related to the fact that the US does not have a coherent water security policy domestically. A strong statement, and more importantly a decisive action, is absent in US foreign policy concerning water, as domestic US water policy is neglected. Additionally, water in the American economy and infrastructure is another important issue. In addition to their industrial use of water, countries differ with regard to their domestic water use. The highest average water use in the world is in the United States, which leads to another linked issue – water as an environmental problem. All of these issues are of significant importance to water as a phenomenon in the foreign and security policy of states. Despite this, water is generally not considered a core US national interest.