Environment, Peace and Conflict Research: The Need for Constructive Dialogue

Feb 22, 2023 | Tobias Ide
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Environmental factors play an increasingly important role for the dynamics of peace and conflict.  Analysts are discussing whether unusually severe droughts lead to the onset or intensification of political instability, for instance in Syria, Nigeria and Guatemala. At the same time, activists campaigning against local environmental destruction, for instance due to mining or hydropower projects, face increasing threats of violence.

Furthermore, there are concerns that environmental problems are framed as security issues and thereby instrumentalised for political purposes—a process commonly called securitisation.

All this means that there is more than enough empirical material, societal relevance and political attention for environmental peace and conflict research. Consequentially, the research field is evolving and thriving quickly, right? Well, not quite.