Ken Conca

Professor
American University
United States

Dec 18, 2018

Ken Conca is a professor of International Relations at the School of International Service at American University, focusing on the connection between environment, conflict, and peace and water politics and governance. After earning his undergraduate degree in geology at Brown University, he pursued a Master’s in Land Resources Management from the University of Wisconsin and a Ph.D. from the Energy and Resources Group at the University of California, Berkeley. He has held positions as a professor at Mount Holyoke University and the University of Maryland. He is a member of UN Environment’s Expert Advisory Group on Conflict and Peacebuilding and served previously on the Scientific Steering Committee on Global Environmental Change and Human Security for the International Human Dimensions Program on Global Environmental Change. Ken has been recognized for his work as a two-time recipient of the International Studies Association’s Harold and Margaret Sprout Award for best book on international environmental affairs and a recipient of the Chadwick Alger Prize for best book in the field of International Organization. In 2017, he and Geoffrey Dabelko were awarded the Al-Moumin Award in Environmental Peacebuilding, which recognizes thought leaders on the links between environmental change, conflict, and peace.

Ken’s work focuses on the relationship between conflict, environment, and peace, with a particular focus on water politics and security. He has partnered with civil society organizations in Israel and Palestine to research issues of water, energy, and food security in the West Bank. Every summer, in partnership with the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies and the Palestinian Wastewater Engineers Group, Ken and colleague Eric Abitbol take a team of master’s students to the region to do a field-based rapid appraisal and desk study on the promotion of energy, water, and food security. This work examines the impacts of Israelis and Palestinians working together across the conflict to build peace around natural resources. It also exemplifies the type of work that Ken does to expand scholarship and practice around the ways that the environment can influence peace and cooperation.

In considering how his work on these issues has evolved, Ken notes that: “One of things that I’ve learned is that peace is not a neutral value. Peace is not something that all stakeholders necessarily value. I came to the work because of my concern about the narrative of environmental problems triggering conflict. I thought it was more complicated and I became interested in looking at how environmental relationships can trigger peace. There are ways that peacebuilding can promote transformation and social justice.” Building off this, Ken’s work is attentive to equity and justice issues in order to prevent the replication of inequalities in the peace process and to promote an equitable and durable peace. 

As for the importance of the Environmental Peacebuilding Association, Ken speaks of the Association’s power to bring together a full community of practitioners and academics. “I have learned a lot about environmental and peace dynamics through scholarship, but I have learned more from the community of practice comprised of governmental organizations, NGOs, the UN, and civil society. It is really important to be tied to that work. The Association is really trying to bring together the full community of practice, which gives us all great opportunities to learn.” Looking ahead to 2019, Ken hopes to continue working on issues of environment and peace, with the particular focus on climate change. He is interested to see how the conversation on climate change develops within the UN Security Council and hopes it will move towards more practical solutions. For more of his thoughts on this issue, check out his forthcoming article, “The UN Security Council and Climate Change”, in the January/February 2019 edition of Environment.