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Tag Archives: Africa
The Streetlight Effect in Climate-Conflict Research on Africa
By Cullen Hendrix, Senior Research Advisor, The Center for Climate and Security
Climate change research on Africa has a streetlight problem: researchers tend to invest more attention on former British colonies and countries with relatively open, stable political systems than other countries, with these factors emerging as more important than objective indicators of “need” like physical exposure to climate change or adaptive capacity. That is, our research seems less guided by objective need and more guided by convenience/safety concerns. (more…)
New Research: Local Food Price Spikes Increase Likelihood of Unrest
Protesters marching in Cairo, “Bread, Freedom, Social Justice By, Mariam Soliman from Cairo, Egypt
This is a cross-post by Todd G. Smith via New Security Beat (see the original post for some great questions in the comments section).
From the Roman poet Juvenal’s observations about bread and circuses to Marie Antoinette’s proclamation, “let them eat cake!” the link between food and political stability is well established in pop culture. In academic and policy circles, however, it’s a source of considerable debate.
Since 2008, when the FAO Food Price Index spiked to previously unseen levels, reports of so-called “food riots” have become common. In 2011, researchers at the New England Complex Systems Institute (NECSI) released a short paper presenting a compelling correlation between spikes in the FAO Food Price Index in 2008 (and again in 2011) and media reports of food riots across the Middle East and North Africa. (more…)
Assessing Climate Security Vulnerability in Africa: CCAPS’s new online dashboard
The Strauss Center’s Climate Change and African Political Stability (CCAPS) program recently released a new online dashboard that allows users to assess climate and security vulnerability in Africa. According to their website:
“CCAPS climate dashboard, an online platform that displays data on physical, socio-economic, demographic, and political insecurities to assess how these factors contribute to “climate security” vulnerability in Africa.” (more…)
Strauss Center Wins Award for Mapping Climate and Security
We’d like to extend a congratulations to the Robert S. Strauss Center for International Security and Law for landing the prestigious SAG award (Special Achievements in GIS, NOT the Screen Actors’ Guild), for its trail-blazing work on mapping the security risks of climate change in Africa. The mapping tool of the Strauss Center’s Climate Change and African Political Stability Program (CCAPS) makes it simpler that it has ever been for “researchers and policymakers to visualize data on climate change vulnerability, conflict, governance, and aid, and to analyze how these issues intersect in Africa.”
The work of the CCAPS program in analyzing the climate change and security nexus in Africa is supported by the Department of Defense’s “Minerva Initiative,” which is one of many key indicators that the U.S. military takes these issues very seriously.