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Werz and Conley: Climate Change, Migration and Conflict
The Woodrow Wilson Center’s New Security Beat posted an interesting piece yesterday breaking down two excellent reports by Michael Werz and Laura Conley: Climate Change, Migration, and Conflict: Addressing Complex Crisis Scenarios in the 21st Century, and Climate Change, Migration and Conflict in Northwest Africa. The blog highlights the unique nature of the reports (jointly published by the Center for American Progress and Heinrich Böll Stiftung), which consider the climate-migration nexus in the context of U.S. national security: the first broadly examining four sub-regions of concern (Northwest Africa, South Asia, The Andes and China) and the second honing in on a so-called “arc of tension” in Northwest Africa. It’s worth a read.
Climate Change and the Philippines: A Key U.S. Ally Under Threat?
The Philippines has long been a self-described staunch ally of the United States. This alliance is critical for the U.S., particularly as the Philippines straddles the South China Sea, a place of huge strategic significance for global security (see the recent CNAS report, Cooperation from Strength: The United States, China and the South China Sea). Essentially, the Sea presents a test of U.S. power and influence. The degree to which the U.S. and its allies in the area, including Japan, South Korea, India, Indonesia and the Philippines, control the trading routes that pass through the Sea and the resources that lie under it, is a measure of how strong the U.S. is in the Asia-Pacific, and vis-a-vis a rising China. In this context, the security of the Philippines, from a conflict and humanitarian perspective, is very important to the United States. (more…)
Solomon Hsiang: Interpreting Climate-Conflict Results in the Journal of Peace Research Special Issue
Though we’re slightly late on this, we would be remiss to not highlight Solomon Hsiang’s second (and thorough) look at the series of studies in the recent climate change special issue of the Journal of Peace Research, which examined the relationship between climate change and different forms of conflict. His first round of commentary can also be found at his blog, Fight Entropy. The ‘climate-conflict’ field of inquiry is a relatively nascent one compared to the broader environmental security field, and this is a great look at some findings that will hopefully lead to more research.
Climate Security is Water Security: Reflections on World Water Day
For human societies, climate change manifests itself primarily through changes in water – increased intensity, frequency and variability of droughts, floods and storms, and a warming and rising ocean. The security implications of climate change are also primarily about water. Preparing for, and responding to, the water events listed above are increasingly becoming the domain of security planners today, charged with assessing credible risks to national security, and developing plans to mitigate those risks. (more…)