Enviro as a security crisis

Question 1

Where has the idea of enviro security come from?

Answer 1

• Idea that environmental stress won’t lead to cooperation and treaties but confrontation and war
• Military has already been used in security issues around resource scarcities, disease, migration, conflict
• About securing necessary resources

Question 2

In what ways would use of the military be positive for enviro cause?

Answer 2

• Military has funding
• Good credibility
• People listen to the military
• Highly visible

Question 3

In what ways is the enviro crisis a sovereign state security crisis?

Answer 3

1. Overwhelmed military capacity- won’t be able to deal with frequency/ complexity of threats
2. Resource conflicts territorial integrity
   • Losing boundaries to rising seas
   • ie Bangladesh will go
   • Food/ water/ energy conflicts
   • Loss of arable land
3. Failed states, civil wars, terrorism
   • Unable to protect population from war
   • Pattern: degradation in rural areas generates mass internal migration to cities= competition for land and work= more tensions= more unrest and violence

Question 4

What percentage of current wars are due to enviro stressors?

Answer 4

25%

Question 5

What is the pattern of failed states?

Answer 5

• Pattern: degradation in rural areas generates mass internal migration to cities= competition for land and work= more tensions= more unrest and violence

Question 6

What are examples of failed states?

Answer 6

Somalia, sri lanka, Syria

Question 7

In what ways is the enviro crisis a population security crisis?

Answer 7

• Lots of threats- disease, crime, poverty
• States use physical, economic and social health to maintain order- i.e. more surveillance etc
• Disease- pandemics, vector born
• Reduced economic productivity
• Climate refugees

Question 8

What is the prediction of how many climate refugees there will be by 2050?

Answer 8

1bil

Question 9

In what ways is the enviro crisis a vital systems crisis?

Answer 9

• Energy production and delivery
• Water supply
• Agriculture

Question 10

What is the domino effect?

Answer 10

Crisis in one vital systems will affect and carry over to the others

Question 11

What are liberal beliefs on the enviro security crisis?

Answer 11

• Against use of military
• States as interdependent and so have incentives/ motives to cooperate
• Military just wanting to help for more funding
• Poorer states will always lose

Question 12

What would the liberal approach to the enviro security crisis be?

Answer 12

• Reduce emissions now
• Build multilateral institutions and design premeditated responses to crises
• Promote global/ regional coop for vital resource access

Question 13

What would the liberal approach to the population threat of the enviro security crisis be?

Answer 13

• Invest in health/ infrastructure

* One global institution

Question 14

What would the liberal approach to the sovereign state threat of the enviro security crisis be?

Answer 14

• UN peacekeeping forces for humanitarian relief and police (not combat)
• Planning as global community w failed states

Question 15

What is the Copenhagen school of security studies, and how are their views aligned with a constructivist attitude to enviro security threat?

Answer 15

• Threats as socially constructed
• Security not objective but subjective social practice
• Needs to be definition between securitisation (i can do anything because of security threat) and politicisation (debate, transparent)

Question 16

What would the humanitarian security approach to the enviro security crisis be?

Answer 16

• Focus on human beings/ disease/ protection

* Address causes of harm not symptoms

Question 17

What are fears around using the military for the enviro crisis threat?

Answer 17

• Would focus on helping the rich
• Would construct sacrifice zones
• Not trying to save planet but are trying to maintain continuity of states
• Cut defines spending and rethink what security is