Ecology, Climate, and Conflict

Environmental changes threaten peace and security, particularly when political systems are unable to manage and mitigate these disruptions. At the same time, eco­systems and global bio­diversity are destroyed world­wide due to wars, pollution, and unsustain­able economic develop­ment. These challenges often lead to migration move­ments, distri­butional conflicts, or the destabili­zation of supply chains. In addition, geo­political upheavals within the inter­national system and the crisis of multi­lateralism compli­cate the path to necessary cooperative solutions. 

In the age of the “Anthropocene,” in which human agency has drastically influenced the Earth System itself, the manage­ment of planetary tipping points – such as the endangered Amazon rain­forest or the polar ice sheets – presents a new type of challenges for inter­national politics: on the one hand, the principle of national sovereignty is further under pressure; on the other hand, global techno­logical develop­ments such as geo­engineering create new regulatory demands.

In this context, the research group investigates under what conditions environ­mental changes in the context of the climate, bio­diversity, and pollution crises foster conflicts – and under what conditions they can be avoided or even serve as a starting point for deeper cooperation. The research focuses on two central areas: first, on “environ­ment in conflict”: local environ­mental conditions in armed conflicts and “environ­mental peace­building,” and second on “planet in crisis”: the geo­politics of the “Anthro­pocene,” particularly in planetary “commons” such as the polar regions, the world’s oceans, the atmo­sphere, and Earth’s orbit. The research group draws on approaches from critical geo­politics, political ecology, and Earth System Governance. Of particular importance is also a “planetary perspec­tive”, which broadens the analytical view to the socio-ecological recipro­city of conflict and cooperation dynamics as well as the neglected role of non-human entities.

Image: Danny Burke, Unsplash