The global prisoners’ dilemma of unsustainability: why sustainable development cannot be achieved without resource security and eliminating the legacies of colonialism

Abstract

Environmental and sustainable development advocates have a major blind spot in linking environmentalism to global security (resource protection) concerns. Though peace movements and environmental movements have begun to note the linkages between war and resource policies on the environment, and while antiglobalization (and some globalization) coalitions have sought multilateral frameworks that link peace and environmentalism, we theorize that the links between security and environmental concerns are deeper and have a more complex feedback relationship than these movements acknowledge. At the same time, we note that the current approach to globalization appears to have contradictions at the local level that make resources vulnerable to exploitation and human cultures unsustainable within their environmental niches. Paradoxically, the current approach to globalism will likely cause this global system to fail. We call on environmentalists and sustainability proponents to modify their approaches by incorporating security concerns and focusing on changing the legacies of colonial institutions in both the developed and developing worlds.