The environment and security: Conceptual and theoretical issues

This chapter addresses the problems of the securitization of the environment. The latter subsumes the environment under the logic of security thinking, which tends to narrow the space for deliberative politics instead of widening it. A good part of the literature tries to establish the conflict potential of environmental change by defining it as a security issue. It is more promising to look at environmental change in the broader context of structural changes in the world economy. The growing importance of post-industrial economic activities in principle widens the space for environmental deliberations. The securitization of the environment is a counterproductive move to make use of this space. Securitization of disparate social issues glosses over their specificities. It interferes with issue-specific strategy formation and lends itself to defending status quo interests where change is urgently needed. The securitization of the environment can be used to further the commodification of natural resources, which may lead to social tensions and thus heighten the prospects for conflict. One possible way to 'save' environmental security would be to delink it from national security, allowing us to consider social security or food security rather than military security. But even then we may still be prisoners of antiquated security thinking that claims to represent a new way of looking at the world but does no more than give new challenges new names.