I am an economist so permit me to make one Econ 101 point.
As drought conditions unfolded in Syria, did water prices rise? Is water metered and paid for in Syria? How do farmers and residential water customers access water?
If there had been a market signal of increased scarcity, water prices would have gone up and rational households and firms would reduce their consumption.
In the presence of such well functioning water markets, no “excess conflict” would have resulted. Capitalist markets thus can diffuse violence as increasingly scarce resources are allocated efficiently and water consumers are incentivized to invest in strategies and actions to reduce their water demand.
So, to repeat my point; if the PNAS authors are correct then it is the synergistic effect between increased drought conditions and the absence of water markets that caused the problem. If the nation had well functioning water markets, then I would strongly predict that there would be no extra violence.
via Environmental and Urban Economics: The Drought Causes War Hypothesis: Evidence from Syria.
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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