The Environment Conflict Nexus

The aim of this book is to demonstrate how environmental factors have caused an evolution in the landscape of national security since the end of the Cold War. Through relevant case studies, the scope of the problem on the national security landscape due to environmental stressors is illuminated, examined, and synthesized with climate-related data. Human variables such as governance, GDP, and vulnerability are taken into account, and are compared against environmental factors to more accurately determine the causative agents of regional conflicts which threaten national security. These case studies comprise the majority of the text, and they show how individual conflicts are uniquely influenced by environmental stress with variations from situation to situation. This book will be of interest to government and military professionals, and may serve as a resource for college courses in the areas of military geography, international affairs, and sustainability studies.

The globalized era is characterized by a high degree of interconnectedness across borders and continents and this includes human migration. Migration flows have led to new governance challenges and, at times, populist political backlashes. A key driver of migration is environmental conflict and this is only likely to increase with the effects of climate change. Bringing together world-leading researchers from across political science, environmental studies, economics and sociology, this urgent book uses a multifaceted theoretical and methodological approach to delve into core questions and concerns surrounding migration, climate change and conflict, providing invaluable insights into one of the most pressing global issues of our time.

Presents a new conceptual framework drawing on human security to evaluate the claim that climate change caused the conflict in Syria.

Climate change is reshaping the planet, its ecosystems, and the evolution of human societies. Related impacts and disasters are triggering significant shifts in the inextricably interconnected human and ecological systems with unprecedented potential implications. These shifts not only threaten survival at species and community levels, but are also emerging drivers of conflicts, human insecurity, and displacement both within and across national borders. Taking these shifting dynamics into account, particularly in the Anthropocene era, this book provides an analysis of the climate-conflict-migration nexus from human security and resilience perspectives. The core approach of the volume consists of unpacking the key dynamics of the nexus between climate change, conflict, and displacement and exploring the various local and global response mechanisms to address the nexus, assess their effectiveness, and identify their implications for the nexus itself. It includes both conceptual research and empirical studies reporting lessons learned from many geographical, environmental, social, and policy settings.

Severe droughts, damaging floods and mass migration: Climate change is becoming a focal point for security and conflict research and a challenge for the world’s governance structures. But how severe are the security risks and conflict potentials of climate change? Could global warming trigger a sequence of events leading to economic decline, social unrest and political instability? What are the causal relationships between resource scarcity and violent conflict? This book brings together international experts to explore these questions using in-depth case studies from around the world. Furthermore, the authors discuss strategies, institutions and cooperative approaches to stabilize the climate-society interaction.

Unpacks key assumptions about the 'environment', its relationship with violent conflict, and the justification for its protection underlying international law.

Tourism is often seen as the world's peace industry. Yet while tourism may play a major role in post-conflict and post-disaster recovery, the sector can also be a trigger of crisis and disaster. This book examines the complex linkages between tourism, disaster and conflict through a series of case studies drawn mainly from the Asia-Pacific region.

Nils Petter Gleditsch International Peace Research Institute, Oslo (PRIO) & Department of Sociology and Political Science, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trond heim This book could hardly have happened but for the end of the Cold War. The decline of the East-West conflict has opened up the arena for increased attention to other lines of conflict, in Europe and at the global level. Environmental disruption, not a new phenomenon by any means, is a chief beneficiary of the shift in priorities in the public debate. The Scientific and Environmental Affairs Divi sion of NATO has moved with the times and has defined environmental security as one of its priority areas for cooperation with Central and Eastern Europe and countries of the former Soviet Union. This book is the main output of an Advanced Research Workshop (ARW), held in Bolkesjl/l, Norway, 12-16 June 1996. I would like to acknowledge the personal support of L. Veiga da Cunha, Director of the Priority Area on Environmental Security. Research on these issues is now very much a collaborative effort across former lines of division in Europe. NATO encourages, indeed requires, that this be reflected in the composition of the participants, as well as the organizing committee. This meeting was organized by a group of five people from five different countries: Lothar Brock (Germany), Nils Petter Gleditsch (Norway), Thomas Homer-Dixon (Canada), Renat Perelet (Co-Director, Russia), and Evan Vlachos (USA).