Rubin, Giulia

Giulia Isabella Rubin was a Research Intern at UNU-CRIS who is currently enrolled in the Master of Sciences Climate Studies at Wageningen University and Research. As part of her academic programme, Giulia assisted Nidhi Nagabhatla in delivering the research objectives of the Nature, Climate and Health Cluster.

Giulia is specialised in International Relations and Water Systems, and at UNU-CRIS she contributed to the development of the fields of hydrodiplomacy and water security. The focus of her project was to explore the effect of hydrodiplomacy on geopolitical volatility in transboundary watersheds.

When tensions arise between countries involved in transnational ecological conflicts over water security, and the climate regime falls short of providing guidance for navigating resource scarcity, sub-national diplomatic relations may spontaneously arise to ensure multilateral cooperation at the basin level. In this context, the research project aimed at creating a comparative overview of the state of hydrodiplomacy, evaluating through a SWOT analysis whether the discipline iwas able to spare water wars under intensifying impacts of climate change, or if it should evolve into a specific direction. The research was conducted by utilising qualitative and quantitative methods, in order to leverage the assets offered by the science-policy nexus.