Environmentally-Induced Conflict — Methodological Notes

Abstract

The reason why this contribution is confined to “methodological notes” is simple. These notes, which form part of the vanguard of the theoretical and systematic analysis of the relationship between environment and conflict, will introduce a third item into this already exceedingly complex equation, namely security. The concept of security, which will have to be defined more precisely in this context, acts as the connecting link between environment and conflict (see Eberwein 1997a). As such it is of relevance from the point of view of international politics. There is major controversy in academic circles as to whether the environmental question is of any significance to security policy. The propositions following contend that there is such a relationship. The first two propositions assume that there are complex relationships of cause and effect between environment, security and conflict, but that these have not been sufficiently explained because they stem from the close interconnection between the ecosystem, the human system and the political system. Proposition 3 postulates that ‘environmental problems’ are relevant to security policy when they are cross-border in nature. Proposition 4 on the other hand rejects the assumption that environmental conflicts as such exist. Rather it is assumed that environmental problems can contribute to the outbreak of intrastate and interstate violence. In the fifth proposition it is argued that the characteristics of environmental problems differ fundamentally from classic security policy ones.