Climate change presents a serious threat to the security and prosperity of all countries. The effects of climate change and its security implications have now been at the forefront of international attention. Academic researches on environmental change and security gained popularity in political science and security studies in the 1990s. With Cold War-related security issues on the decline, policymakers began looking more closely at non-traditional security concerns such as environmental change, poverty and diseases. In so doing, the idea of what constituted state security expanded beyond the risk of direct military aggression from hostile states to concerns about the regional instability that could affect economic security and draw governments into regional conflicts.
Many quantitative and qualitative studies conclude that, climate change in itself is unlikely to produce violent conflict, but rather, it could serve as a “threat multiplier” whereby environmental degradation caused by climate change may exacerbate many of the underlining causes linked to violent conflict. However this conclusion is widely generalized, since it has put all countries in one basket despite the numerous differences and variation between countries as far as adaptive capacities and mitigation mechanism are concerned. Using Darfur as a case study, this dissertation examines the effects of climate change in poor or less developed countries, and critically analyzing the concept of climate change as a security threat that has ignited the conflict in Darfur, critically analyzing the role of drought, desertification, decreased rainfall, land degradation and migration in the conflict in Darfur. This study seeks to answer one question: whether the root causes of this crisis related to climate change? While acknowledging the prominent role of the International community in solving this crisis, this work intends to prove that, the absence of a common view on the nature and causes of the conflict has hampered international convergence about how to act on the Darfur crisis. This has delayed a coherent response and has contributed to the escalation of the conflict. Also the mischaracterization of the causes and nature of the conflict in Darfur has contributed to oversimplified views, which allowed the conflict to be politicized in a way that has complicated the search for solutions. .
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 INTREODUCTION
1.1 INTRODUCTION
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
1.3 IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY
1.4 AIMS, OBJECTIVE AND HYPOTHESIS
1.5 METHODOLOGY
1.6 OVERVIEW OF CHAPTERS
1.7 LITERATUREREVIEW
Chapter 2 BACKGROUND TO SUDAN
2.1 BACKGROUND TO SUDAN
2.2 BACKGROUND TO DARFUR
Chapter 3 BEGINNING OF SCARCITY RESOURCE AND CONFLICTS IN DARFUR
3.1 HISTORY OF RAIN FALL AND DROUGH IN DARFUR
3.2 LAND DEGRADATION AND FOOD SCARCITY
3.3 MIGARATION
3.4 HISTORY OF TRIBAL CONFLICTS OVER RESOURCES
3.5 ERUPTION OF CURRENT CRISES
Chapter 4 ANALYSIS
4.1 LINKING CLIMATE CHANGE TO CONFLICT IN DARFUR
Chapter 5 THE ROLE OF MULTILATERALISM IN SOLVING THE CRISES IN DARFUR
5.1 ROLE OF UNITED NATIONS
5.2 ROLE OF AFRICAN UNION
5.3 DISCUSSION
Research Objectives and Focus
This thesis examines the role of climate change as a threat multiplier in intra-state conflicts, specifically focusing on the Darfur crisis in Sudan as a case study to challenge the politicized narrative of the conflict.
- The link between environmental degradation (drought, desertification, land scarcity) and violent conflict.
- The failure of the international community to address the root causes of the conflict due to an over-reliance on political narratives.
- The impact of climate change on vulnerable, less-developed nations with limited adaptive capacities.
- The correlation between population growth, resource scarcity, and tribal conflicts in Darfur.
- The limitations of current international peacebuilding and diplomatic interventions.
Excerpt from the Book
1.2 Statement of the Problem
It would be natural to view these as distinct developments. In fact, they are linked. Almost invariably, we discuss Darfur in convenient military and political shorthand an ethnic conflict pitting Arab militias against black rebels and farmers. Look to its roots, though, and you discover a more complex dynamic. Amid the diverse social and political causes, the Darfur conflict began as an ecological crisis, arising at least in part from climate change. Two decades ago, the rains in western Sudan began to fail. According to U.N. statistics, average precipitation has declined some 40 percent since the early 1980s. Scientists at first considered this to be an unfortunate quirk of nature. But subsequent investigation found that it coincided with a rise in temperatures of the Indian Ocean, disrupting seasonal monsoons. This suggests that the drying of sub-Saharan Africa derives, to some degree, from man-made global warming.
Summary of Chapters
Chapter 1: Provides the introduction, problem statement, research methodology, and sets the theoretical framework for analyzing climate change as a security threat.
Chapter 2: Outlines the historical and political background of Sudan and the regional development context of Darfur.
Chapter 3: Details the environmental history of Darfur, focusing on declining rainfall, desertification, and the resulting resource scarcity that triggered tribal conflicts.
Chapter 4: Analyzes the direct causal linkages between climate-induced environmental stress and the escalation of violence in Darfur.
Chapter 5: Examines the interventions by international organizations, specifically the UN and the African Union, and evaluates their effectiveness in solving the crisis.
Keywords
Climate change, Darfur, intra-state conflict, resource scarcity, desertification, land degradation, environmental security, threat multiplier, tribal conflict, Sudan, adaptation capacity, international diplomacy, food insecurity, forced migration.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core subject of this thesis?
The thesis investigates whether climate change acts as a root cause for the intra-state conflict in Darfur by exacerbating resource scarcity and environmental degradation.
What are the primary themes discussed?
The research centers on the interplay between environmental factors (drought, rainfall patterns), social dynamics (land tenure, tribal migration), and political interventions.
What is the central research question?
The study seeks to determine if climate change constitutes a legitimate root cause of the Darfur conflict and whether the connection between environmental changes and security is valid.
Which methodology is employed?
The research primarily utilizes the analysis of secondary data, including academic literature, official reports, and historical records, supported by the author’s personal field experience in Northern Darfur.
What does the main body cover?
It covers the history of Sudan and Darfur, the scientific evidence for desertification, the evolution of land tenure, and a critique of international efforts to mediate the crisis.
Which keywords define this work?
Key terms include climate change, Darfur, resource scarcity, environmental security, and threat multiplier.
How does the author characterize the conflict in Darfur?
The author argues that while the conflict is often presented as an ethnic war, it is fundamentally rooted in an ecological crisis and competition over dwindling natural resources.
What is the significance of the "threat multiplier" concept in this study?
It suggests that while climate change may not directly cause war, it exacerbates underlying social and political tensions, making conflict more likely in vulnerable states.
- Quote paper
- Mohamed Osman Akasha (Author), 2012, Climate change as a cause of intra-state conflicts: Darfur case study, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/210144
