ECSP Report 13
The 13th issue of the Environmental Change and Security Program Report details the non-traditional security threats and opportunities facing the world today. "Environmental security is making a comeback," says ECSP Director Geoff Dabelko, "notably in the United States, where signs indicate that the next administration will tackle environment, population, health, and development challenges that impact security."
Issues in this Series
ECSP Report 13
The 13th issue of the Environmental Change and Security Program Report details the non-traditional security threats and opportunities facing the world today. Complete report.
ECSP Report 13: Cover and Table of Contents
The 13th issue of the Environmental Change and Security Program Report details the non-traditional security threats and opportunities facing the world today. Cover and Table of Contents.
Foreword: Environmental Security Heats Up
Climate change has never drawn this much attention from the security community, especially in the United States, where the environmental security field is emerging from the shadows.
New Directions in Demographic Security
Complete set of commentaries on demographic security by Jack Goldstone, Richard Cincotta, Jennifer Dabbs Sciubba, Clionadh Raleigh and Henrik Urdal, Christian Leuprecht, and Elizabeth Leahy.
Flash Points and Tipping Points: Security Implications of Global Population Changes
"Population distortions - in which populations grow too young, or too fast, or too urbanized - make it difficult for prevailing economic and administrative institutions to maintain stable socialization and labor-force absorption," says author Jack A. Goldstone.
Half a Chance: Youth Bulges and Transitions to Liberal Democracy
Using age-structure data, Richard Cincotta assesses the fragility of existing liberal democracies and forecasts when new ones will emerge.
Population in Defense Policy Planning
U.S. defense policymakers should watch four demographic trends, says Jennifer Dabbs Sciubba: youthful populations, changes in military personnel, international migration, and urbanization.
Climate Change, Demography, Environmental Degradation, and Armed Conflict
Using geo-referenced data, Clionadh Raleigh and Henrik Urdal find that population growth and density are related to increased civil conflict, but that demographic and environmental factors are generally outweighed by political and economic ones.
Migration as the Demographic Wild Card in Civil Conflict: Mauritius and Fiji
Analyzing demographic trends on the small-island nations of Mauritius and Fiji, Christian Leuprecht argues that "the impact of migration on conflict is a man-made problem; the way migration is managed (or not) can determine its potential for mitigating or escalating a conflict."
Beginning the Demographic Transition: Very Young and Youthful Age Structures
From 1970-2000, "only 13 percent of countries with a very young age structure had fully democratic governments, compared with 83 percent of countries with a mature age structure," says Elizabeth Leahy, who compares age structure to conflict in Nigeria, Ethiopia, Iran, and Pakistan.
From Conflict to Peacebuilding: UNEP's Role in Environmental Assessment and Recovery
"UNEP seeks to ensure that countries rebuilding from conflict identify the sustainable use of natural resources as a fundamental prerequisite and guiding principle of their reconstruction and recovery," says David Jensen, of the UN Environment Programme.
An Ethical Approach to Population and Climate Change
As interest in the relationship between global population growth and climate change grows, Suzanne Petroni calls for "a thoughtful and deliberative dialogue around voluntary family planning's contribution to mitigating climate change."
Navigating Peace Initiative: Water Conflict and Cooperation
The Navigating Peace Initiative’s Water Conflict and Cooperation Working Group present four policy briefs to identify the current and emerging trends in water conflict and cooperation.
Best of the Beat: Highlights From the First Year
The New Security Beat, ECSP’s blog, was launched in January 2007 to shed light on some of today’s broader security issues, including water scarcity, environmental degradation, and population growth. The posts below are selected highlights from the first year.
On the Record @ the Wilson Center
"On the Record," a compendium of quotations from the past year of ECSP meetings, features many candid assessments of global environmental, population, and security issues.
Reviews of New Publications (Complete)
Leaf through expert reviews of 20 recent books and reports at the nexus of population, environment, and security, including The Greening of the U.S. Military, Return of the Population Growth Factor, and Peace Parks: Conservation and Conflict Resolution.
Beyond Disasters: Creating Opportunities for Peace
Beyond Disasters: Creating Opportunities for Peace examines the impact of natural disasters on conflicts by analyzing the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and the 2005 earthquake in Kashmir.
Bridges Over Water: Understanding Transboundary Water Conflict, Negotiation and Cooperation
This textbook seeks to introduce the multidisciplinary facets of freshwater management by considering its political, economic, legal, environmental, and hydrological aspects.
The Environmental Dimension of Asian Security: Conflict and Cooperation Over Energy, Resources, and Pollution
The Environmental Dimension of Asian Security: Conflict and Cooperation Over Energy, Resources, and Pollution describes and analyzes connections among resources, the environment, and security in Northeast Asia.
Escaping the Resource Curse
This edited volume, in which leading academics, practitioners, and policymakers focus on overcoming the problems faced by states endowed with large oil and gas reserves, could not have come at a better time.
Gaia's Revenge: Climate Change and Humanity's Loss
In Gaia’s Revenge: Climate Change and Humanity’s Loss, Peter Liotta and Allan Shearer argue that scenario analysis can be a useful tool for policymakers searching for the proper response to the impending challenges presented by climate change.
The Global Family Planning Revolution, Return of the Population Growth Factor, and Population Issues in the 21st Century: The Role of the World Bank
A trio of reports released in 2007—two from the World Bank, one from the UK Parliament—examine the past, present, and future of family planning programs, highlighting best practices and lessons learned, and offering recommendations for next steps.
Governance as a Trialogue: Government-Society-Science in Transition
In Governance as a Trialogue: Government-Society-Science in Transition, Anthony Turton and his co-editors take a hard look at the elements of governance, examining a “trialogue” model that comprises the set of actors and their interactions required to achieve management goals.
The Greening of the U.S. Military: Environmental Policy, National Security, and Organizational Change
The Greening of the U.S. Military: Environmental Policy, National Security, and Organizational Change is a carefully constructed and well-organized account of the regulation of environmental issues within the Department of Defense and the armed services.
Peace Parks: Conservation and Conflict Resolution
In Peace Parks: Conservation and Conflict Resolution, 31 authors explore the multiple ways in which environmental conservation zones can facilitate the resolution of territorial conflicts.
People on the Move: Reducing the Impacts of Human Migration on Biodiversity
This book provides conservation planners and protected area managers with an excellent overview of contemporary human migration, emphasizing its impacts on biodiversity.
Political Geography: Special Issue on Climate Change and Conflict
The journal Political Geography has devoted an entire issue to exploring the links between climate change and violent conflict.
Population, Land Use, and Environment: Research Directions
The volume, edited by Barbara Entwistle and Paul C. Stern, focuses on land use or land cover change where population is a prominent driving force.
Poverty Reduction: An Effective Means of Population Control
In Poverty Reduction: An Effective Means of Population Control, Mohammed Sharif attempts to use both theoretical and empirical analysis to take a fresh look at the topic.
The Price of Neglect: From Resource Conflict to Maoist Insurgency in the Himalayan Kingdom
Bishnu Upreti’s book, The Price of Neglect: From Resource Conflict to Maoist Insurgency in the Himalayan Kingdom was published in 2004, just as the Maoist insurgency was reaching a fever pitch and violence was spreading to the capital, Kathmandu.
Security By Other Means: Foreign Assistance, Global Poverty, and American Leadership
This Brookings Institution volume, edited by Lael Brainard, joins the growing chorus of criticism of foreign assistance reform in offering a clear set of first steps.
The Shape of Things To Come: Why Age Structure Matters to a Safer, More Equitable World
A recent study by Population Action International (PAI), The Shape of Things To Come: Why Age Structure Matters to a Safer, More Equitable World, provides a timely illustration of population trends and their current interpretations.
Too Poor for Peace? Global Poverty, Conflict, and Security in the 21st Century
The book’s broad thesis is that alleviating poverty in the 21st century is not only a moral but also a security imperative.
Trade, Aid and Security: An Agenda for Peace and Development
Trade, Aid and Security: An Agenda for Peace and Development undertakes the challenging task of assessing the interrelationships between trade and aid, as well as the complex causes of conflict within the poorest countries.
The Upside of Down: Catastrophe, Creativity, and the Renewal of Civilization
The Upside of Down: Catastrophe, Creativity, and the Renewal of Civilization, deserves a wide readership and should be the focus of animated discussions in classrooms, journals, and policy arenas around the world.
