Blogs & Opinions

Beyond Greed or Grievance: Understanding Conflict in Resource-rich States

Apr 22, 2014 | Christoph Vogel and Joschka Havenith

Diamonds and Rubber in Sierra Leone, oil in Angola and Sudan, tantalum and gold in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, copper in Zambia –…

Not There Yet: Burma’s Fragile Ecosystems Show Challenges for Continued Progress

Apr 21, 2014 | Tim Kovach

Political and economic changes in Burma have been as rapid as they are surprising. In just three years, the country has gone from an isolated…

Ukraine: Crisis in Ukraine Has Far-Reaching Implications

Apr 17, 2014 | James A. Baker III, Houston Chronicle

Though headlines focus on the latest developments in Ukraine, the crisis has created a ripple effect around the world. The escalating conflict has even impacted…

The Complex World of Big Land Deals

Apr 14, 2014 | Fiona Harvey, Ensia Magazine

“When [the trucks] came through they could not get access to their objective. They really had to push their way through here. The people did…

Climate Change Mitigation, Peacebuilding, and Resilience

Apr 11, 2014 | Florian Krampe, Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs

How are our efforts to reduce the impact of climate change affecting post-conflict societies? Thinking and research about the possible impacts of climate change adaptation…

Land and Post-Conflict Peacebuilding: The Peace Deal for Mindanao and its lessons for practitioners of environmental peacebuilding

Apr 10, 2014 | Paula Defensor Knack, Terra Nullius

This blog provides a guide to peace-builders in analyzing developments in the Mindanao peace process that occurred since the publication of Knack's chapter on “Legal…

The Problems with Burma’s Logging Ban

Apr 4, 2014 | Casey Hynes, asiancorrespondent.com

Burma’s recent announcement of a ban on exporting unprocessed timber logs seems like good news for the country’s environment and economy. The proposed ban is…

Japanese Investments are Driving Human Rights Abuses in Myanmar

Apr 3, 2014 | Rachel Wagley, Global Post

WASHINGTON — Japan’s development aid is driving Myanmar families into deeper poverty.

The Thilawa Special Economic Zone (SEZ) outside Rangoon, funded by the Japanese government through…

Ukraine and the Crisis of International Law

Mar 24, 2014 | Jeffery Sachs, Project Syndicate

NEW YORK – Russia's actions in Ukraine constitute a serious and dangerous violation of international law. In 1994, Ukraine agreed to give up the nuclear…

The European Citizen and Conflict Resources

Jan 9, 2014 | Ries Kamphof

European consumers can contribute to more sustainable supply chains and less social, economic and ecological deprivation.

According to an annual report published by the International Telecommunications…

Global Warming and Global Security

Oct 17, 2013 | Project Syndicate

On September 27, the 195 member countries of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), supported by the work of thousands of scientists…

In a Polluted Stream, a Pathway to Peace

Oct 9, 2013 | New York Times

Peace talks are under way again in Jerusalem. If the past is any guide, the two sides are stymied over difficult issues like settlements and…

200 Years Of Landlessness? Land Inequality And The Search For Peace In Colombia

Aug 28, 2013 | Thomas Edward Flores

Representatives of the Colombian Government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) continue to negotiate in the sweltering Havana summer to end a civil…

The Battle for Water

Aug 7, 2013 | Project Syndicate

The sharpening international geopolitical competition over natural resources has turned some strategic resources into engines of power struggle. Transnational water resources have become an especially…

Blood Money and Diamonds

Jun 13, 2013 | Farakh A. Khan

Slavery was banned in early 19th century but different forms of slavery continued. Globalisation made slavery a commonplace practice where people in the developed and…

Nurturing Wildlife in War-Torn Afghanistan

Dec 2, 2011 | Rachael Nuwer

When Wildlife Conservation Society scientists talk about their work in Afghanistan, they typically draw puzzled reactions. “Wildlife conservation in Afghanistan?”

Given the enormity of the country’s…

The American Military is Creating an Environmental Disaster in Afghanistan

Apr 25, 2010 | Matthew Nasuti

The American military presence in Afghanistan consists of fleets of aircraft, helicopters, armored vehicles, weapons, equipment, troops and facilities. Since 2001, they have generated millions…

The American Military is Creating an Environmental Disaster in Afghanistan

Apr 25, 2010 | Matthew Nasuti

The American military presence in Afghanistan consists of fleets of aircraft, helicopters, armored vehicles, weapons, equipment, troops and facilities. Since 2001, they have generated millions…

Sachs: Poverty Alleviation Route to Security

Jan 19, 2007 | Wilson Center

 Urging a better understanding of the roots of instability, Columbia University economist Jeffrey Sachs on Wednesday said that fighting poverty will provide security benefits to…

Fiji: Indigenous Women Defend Community and Environment

Feb 20, 2006

In September of 2005, women from rural and urban areas throughout the Macuata Province, Fiji, met to create a strategic, ten-year sustainable development plan. The…

Why Gender Matters in Climate Security - And What Policy Makers Can Do About It

Emma Hakala and Esther Hodges

In October 2025, United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 - the foundational resolution for the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda - turns 25.…

Close the Gender Gap in Climate Change. Five Ways To Do It

Vilas Dhar, Tara Chklovski, and Yolanda Botti-Lodovico

With each breath they take, residents of Delhi endure the dark and dense smog resulting from crop burning. Even though these practices pollute the air and…

Why Addressing the Climate Crisis Can Help Build More Sustainable Peace

Florian Krampe, Farah Hegazi, and Stacy D. VanDeveer

Thirty years of research underlies the realization that climate change poses substantial national, international and human security risks, but analysts have only recently shifted their…

Myths About Food Security and Water

Eckart Woertz

Former UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali famously warned in 1988 that the next war in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) would be over water—not…

What Has Happened to Gender Provisions in Peace Agreements?

Agathe Christien

The world seemed to be making slow but steady progress on the inclusion of gender sensitive provisions in peace agreements. References to women and gender had…

Responsibility to Prepare

https://climateandsecurity.org/responsibilitytoprepare/

The 21st Century will be defined by unprecedented risks and unprecedented foresight. International security institutions and governments have a “Responsibility to Prepare” for this future.

Day 9: Feminism and Food Sovereignty

Pamela Elisa Caro Molina

Food sovereignty offers opportunities to advance women’s rights within the food system, but we must also work to restore gender relations within rural families and…

Deforestation in Post-Conflict Colombia

Juan Vargas

Economists on Peace contributor, Juan Vargas, on the surprising environmental outcomes that followed the FARC peace agreement.

Sometimes the Label of "Conflict Minerals" Simply Shouldn't Apply

International Council on Mining and Metals

The mining and metals sector attracts a great deal of attention from policy makers, think tanks, academics, non-governmental organisations and organisations such as ICMM. So…

Kirkuk and the Kurdish Referendum

Yasar Yakis

After the announcement of the date for Iraqi Kurdistan’s independence referendum, the debate has shifted to the provinces it will cover. Kurds claim Kirkuk is…