The Chain of Climate Change, Scarcity and Conflict in Global Politics.

Abstract

To state that climate change and environment issues are becoming increasingly important in the realm of International Relations is an understatement. Mitigation and adaptation debates, strategies and mechanisms are all developed at the international level, often demonstrating the nuances of international politics and governance. The changes experienced in the environment have in many ways been identified as plausible causes of violent intergroup conflict. These changes include greenhouse-induced climate change, stratospheric ozone depletion, degradation and loss of good agricultural land, degradation and removal of forests, depletion and pollution of fresh water supplies, and depletion of fisheries. The notion is that there is a complex linkage between environment, scarcity and conflict among competing groups in the international system. Policy makers, national and international actors, and academics are left in bewilderment as they sought to identify how conflict can be environmentally induced. However, some sectors believe that environment does not directly or exclusively causes violent conflicts rather they are a subset of the whole. It upon these contending issues that this study attempts to examine the relationship between environment, scarcity and conflict. And do in any way contemporary conflicts have direct linkages to scare resources as some circles of thought believe? The study also will identify contending issues of these chain of events – environment-scarcityconflict – that are prevailing discourse in the international system.