This collection of essays seeks to investigate questions of oil and water resources contestation‎,‎ wars‎,‎ and cooperation in the context of the Gulf region‎,‎ especially Iraq‎,‎ and of the Nile Basin‎.‎ It tries to explore different opinions‎,‎ rather than arrive at consensus‎,‎ regarding the following questions‎:‎ Does scarcity lead to violent conflicts‎?‎ Or does abundance‎?‎ And once war starts‎,‎ what is the role of resources in expanding/limiting the scope and intensity of war and prolonging/ shortening it‎?‎ Finally could resources‎,‎ whether scarce or abundant‎,‎ induce cooperation instead of dispute and violence‎?‎ Why and how‎?‎