Marxists a century or so ago believed that what they called “Oriental despotism” arose in Asia because of the need in China and elsewhere to control the water supply. In 1957, Karl Wittfogel ’s work on the subject, “Oriental Despotism,” was published, warning that the need to control water for irrigation and other purposes in the region had given birth to a totalitarian state unlike any that had developed in the West. China is now the world’s largest economy. Though its ascension has been a long time coming, China ’s new status has analysts once again looking to water as one of its most powerful strategic levers. In fact, understanding China ’s water policy is as crucial to fostering world peace and international relations in the 21st century as arms treaties and diplomatic missions. In much of the world today, water is a more precious natural resource than oil. […]