Climate change and homeland security nexus: Proposal for a comprehensive conceptual framework

Abstract

Climate change is a significant security concern in the 21st century. This study is specifically focused on the interplay between climate change and domestic security within the U.S. context but is of relevance to other countries that are vulnerable to climate change impacts. The study comparatively explores mainstream environmental security literature and U.S. homeland security academic literature on climate-security nexus and establishes three things as follows. First, there is a relatively small but growing body of literature that explores the nexus between climate change and U.S. homeland security. Second, contemporary homeland security academic literature primarily frames climate change as a threat multiplier but does not account for maladaptation, which this article argues is a key aspect of the climate-security nexus including within the U.S. context. Third, maladaptation is already increasingly being accounted for within mainstream environmental security literature in addition to the threat multiplier aspect of the nexus. The article advances knowledge on climate-security nexus within homeland security field by proposing a comprehensive conceptual framework that would enable U.S. homeland security academics to account for both threat multiplier and maladaptation aspects of the climate change problem in their analysis. The article concludes with recommendations for future research.