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Abstract In the current context of changing climatic conditions and growing food needs, the pressure on hydraulic resources is sharply increasing. Water has become a major political issue and both the control and sharing of water, are now potential sources of conflicts. These can be inter-state conflicts or low-intensity internal ones, but in both cases, hydraulic conflicts often only exacerbate existing tensions between states or communities, and they could entail real “water wars” if pushed to the extreme. The potential of conflict increases with the swiftness of the hydraulic rupture, which causes true water scarcity. However, societies appear more or less sensitive to this rupture, depending on their “capacity of social adaptation”.