Blogs & Opinions

Tin is the Biggest Conflict Mineral: GAO

Aug 21, 2015 | Emily Chasan

Tin may pose the biggest challenge for companies looking to rid their supply chains of “conflict minerals” blamed for funding violence in the Democratic Republic…

Water Wars and Migration of Peoples Go to Eastern Europe?

Aug 20, 2015 | ABC

In 2015 it became apparent that the Middle East syndrome (increased tension and conflict in connection with the reduction of water resources) begins to spread…

China’s Ongoing Game of Chess in Southeast Asia

Aug 20, 2015 | Eliza King

As China continues to expand into a superpower large enough to one day rival the United States, the support and cooperation of Southeast Asian countries…

Decentralisation Key to Ending Water Wars

Aug 19, 2015 | Nipon Poapongsakorn and Nujpanit Narkpitaks

Water is the lifeblood of agriculture. It has significant impacts on the livelihood of millions of Thai farmers. Early on in rainy season this year,…

The World’s Hot Spot

Aug 19, 2015 | Thomas Friedman

Here’s a bet about the future of Sunni, Shiite, Arab, Turkish, Kurdish and Israeli relations: If they don’t end their long-running conflicts, Mother Nature is…

D.C. Circuit Voids SEC “Conflict Minerals” Policy on First Amendment Grounds (Again)

Aug 18, 2015 | Jonathan H. Adler

This morning, a divided panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit again concluded that the Securities and Exchange Commission’s “conflict minerals”…

Healing Waters From Hebron to Gaza

Aug 17, 2015 | Kate Rothschild

For millennia the Holy Land has attracted pilgrims from all corners of the Earth, devoutly following in the footsteps of Abraham and the patriarchs of…

Over 140 Mines in Congo are Now Officially Conflict-Free: the Latest List

Aug 17, 2015 | Sasha Lezhnev

Over the past three years, teams of business persons, government officials, and civil society members have been traveling to mines in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo to assess whether or not the…

Tensions in the South China Sea: The Nuclear Dimension

Aug 15, 2015 | Mathieu Duchâtel and Eugenia Kazakova

Ever since China started constructing artificial islands in the South China Sea (SCS) on an unprecedented scale and speed by the standards of the region,…

Why Climate Change Could be China’s Biggest Security Threat

Aug 14, 2015 | Wilson VornDick

In preparation for the UN’s Climate Change Conference in Paris this November, the globe’s two largest emitters, China and the United States, have been pledging various actions…

Water and Conflict

Aug 14, 2015 | Barry S. Levy and Victor W. Sidel

The four-year drought in California, which is causing severe water shortages and related problems, is receiving increasingly more attention. It is affecting everyone, causing people…

US 'Not Neutral' in South China Sea? A Rebuttal

Aug 14, 2015 | James Kraska

The recent article by Mark J. Valencia ("The issue of US 'neutrality' in South China Sea disputes"; Aug 11) complains that the United States is…

Liberia: President Obama's Emissions Cuts - Quest for Renewable Energy in Liberia

Aug 10, 2015 | Stephen B. Lavalah

It is an obvious fact that no one can live without clean air, clean water and clean environment; however, on a daily basis, we are…

Pentagon Issues Scary Climate Security Report, as Russia Lays Claim to Vast Arctic Territory

Aug 5, 2015 | Eric Holthaus

Global warming could turn the Arctic into a 21st-century battlefield, and the United States isn’t prepared. That’s the key takeaway from a new Pentagon report on the…

In Conflict Minerals, Ethical Investors Gain Ability to Rank Companies

Aug 5, 2015 | Kristin Lin and Eily Chasan

Coming up with a “conflict-free” determination to comply with the SEC’s rule can be costly for companies—and the value of the information is up for…

Climate Change and Destabilization in the MENA Region

Aug 3, 2015 | Ian Armstrong

The devastating environmental impacts of climate change have together become such an ominous cloud on the horizon that they often overshadow other potentially grave consequences…

In Search of Higher Returns: Can Extractive Industries Help Build Peace?

Aug 3, 2015 | Carley Chavara

If you’re a government pondering the development of newly discovered natural resources, how do you avoid the so-called “resource curse” – the tendency of high…

Why Has Sea Level Rise Not Been Securitized by the PLA?

Jul 31, 2015 | Wilson VornDick

Ahead of the United Nations Climate Change Conference, which is set to take place in Paris later this year, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang recently announced…

This Is What Could Start a War between India and China

Jul 29, 2015 | Palmo Tenzin

While everyone’s anxiously watching and analyzing the events unraveling in the South China Sea, there’s another resource conflict involving China that also deserves attention. In…

Turning the Climate-Security Problem on Its Head: Geoff Dabelko Talks G7 ‘Climate for Peace’ Report

Jul 29, 2015 | Linnea Bennett

Conversations around climate change often take place at the “30,000-foot level,” said Ohio University Professor and ECSP Senior Advisor Geoff Dabelko in a recent radio interview…

Whatever Happened to the 5th Geneva Convention?

Jul 29, 2015 | Doug Weir

The acceptance that legal protection for the environment from the ravages of armed conflict needs improvement has a long history. During the last three decades,…

Arctic Diplomacy Requires Convergence of Military and Scientific Interests

Jul 28, 2015 | Saleem Ali

Scientists and the military have a long history of engagement but largely in a client-donor relationship. Yet, global environmental change is providing another opportunity for more “natural”…

With China’s Oil Rig Back in the South China Sea, What’s Vietnam’s Play?

Jul 24, 2015 | Chau Bao Nguyen

The redeployment of a Chinese oil rig in the South China Sea (SCS) shows an inconsistency in the rhetoric and practice of China’s policy in…

The Helmand River and the Afghan-Iranian Treaty of 1973

Jul 23, 2015 | Dr. Glen Hearns

The Helmand River and its major tributary, the Arghandab, drain 43% of Afghanistan including most of the southern part of the country. It has an…

Dodd-Frank at 5: How Financial Reform Led to Bloodshed in the Congo

Jul 21, 2015 | Stephanie Slade

The Dodd-Frank financial reform act turns 5 today. It was signed into law by President Obama on July 21, 2010. In the two years immediately…

The Dodd-Frank Act at 5: Examining Progress and Pushback

Jul 21, 2015 | Naki B. Mendoza

Birthdays are often cause for celebration, yet cheers for Tuesday’s fifth anniversary of the historic Dodd-Frank Act have been somewhat tempered and reserved.

Since officially being…

Governance, Gender and no Guarantees in Africa’s Oil-Rich States

Jul 19, 2015 | Celeste Hicks and Laura Seay

The discovery of oil in Chad in 1969 did not yield many immediate benefits for a population that would soon be wracked by civil war,…

Do-Gooders, Do No Harm: What Are the Best–and Worst–Ways to Help Those Mired in International Conflicts?

Jul 17, 2015 | Laura Seay and Alex de Waal, Washington Post

In today’s hyper-connected world, it’s easier than ever for those who live thousands of miles away from a conflict area to learn about a crisis. When…

Ukraine Conflict – 24 Months of Urgent Environmental Recovery Will Cost $30m

Jul 16, 2015 | Doug Weir

The environmental costs of the ongoing Ukraine conflict are still to be quantified but an EU-UN-World Bank needs assessment has called for US$30m to fund…

Glaring Sea Erosion Danger in Liberia Needs Urgent Attention

Jul 14, 2015 | Front Page Africa

Monrovia is located near the Atlantic Ocean and also contains other smaller bodies of water including the Du River which is found in almost every…