Environmental Peacebuilding and Climate Change: Peace and Conflict Studies at the Edge of Transformation. Policy Brief No. 68 (December), Toda Peace Institute.

Abstract

This Policy Brief presents a comprehensive review of the literature on environmental conflict and peacebuilding. It traces the development of the field from its beginnings in the 1980s until today, identifying several distinct stages which are characterised by specific research questions, approaches and findings. Based on this literature review the authors address major gaps and shortcomings as well as problematic implications of the research so far. A critical approach is developed which can inform Environmental Peace and Conflict Studies in the future, taking up incentives from the field of Anthropocene Studies and the concepts of ‘sustaining peace’ and ‘sustainable peace.’ The Policy Brief concludes with some recommendations that can give direction for a new wave of research which is currently emerging.

Full text

Policy Brief No. 20 APLN/CNND
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Environmental!Peacebuilding!and!Climate!Change:!
Peace!and!Conflict!Studies!at!the!Edge!of!Transformation!
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Judith!Nora!Hardt!and!Jürgen!Scheffran!
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Summary!
This! Policy! Brief! presents! a! comprehensive! review! of! the! literature! on! environmental!!
conflict!and!peacebuilding.!It!traces!the!development!of!the!field!from!its!beginnings!in!the!
1980s!until! today,!identifying! several!distinct! stages!which! are!characterised!by! specific!!
research!questions,!approaches! and!findings.!Based! on!this! literature!review!we! address!
major!gaps!and!shortcomings!as!well!as!problematic!implications!of!the!research!so!far.!We!
develop!a!critical!approach!which!can!inform!Environmental!Peace!and!Conflict!Studies!in!
the!future,!taking!up!incentives!from!the!field!of!Anthropocene!Studies!and!the!concepts!of!
‘sustaining!peace’!and!‘sustainable!peace’.!The!Policy!Brief!concludes!with!some!recommen-
dations!that!can!give!direction!for!a!new!wave!of!research!which!is!currently!emerging.!!
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!We!thank!the!Toda!Policy!Brief!editors!and!Juan!Telleria!for!their!constructive!criticism!and!support.
Policy!Brief!No.!68!
December!2019!

Policy Brief No. 68 Toda Peace Institute
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Introduction!
Research!on!peacebuilding!is!evolving!over!time!and!remains!a!central!concern!of!the!theory!
and!practice!of!Peace!and!Conflict!Studies.!Peacebuilding!concepts!have!changed!progres-
sively,! with! the! inclusion! of! new! dimensions,! topics! and! actors,! constantly! exposed! to!!
perceptions!of!new!challenges,!disruptive!phenomena!and!an!ever!more!complex!world.!
Two!main!changes!in!the!discourse!and!practice!of!peacebuilding!have!occurred!recently,!
relatively!isolated!from!each!other.!These!are,!firstly,!the!re-adjustment!from!!"#$"%&'()'*+!
to!the!blueprint!of!,&,-#'*'*+.!"#$"!and,!secondly,!attempts!to!include!environmental!issues,!
especially!climate!change,! in!peacebuilding.!The!first! change!has!been! pushed!by!several!
United!Nations!institutions!to!bring!about!greater!success!and!prevent!further!failures!that!
threaten!the!credibility! of!the!UN! in!regard!to!peacebuilding! (UNSG,!2015:!33).! The!shift!
towards! the! ‘sustaining! peace’! concept! encompasses! three! main! characteristics.! First,! it!!
addresses!the!root!causes!of!violent!conflicts!in!order!to!reach!reconciliation!and!build!“a!
common!vision!of!a!society”!(UNSG,!2015:!9).!Second,!national!stakeholders,!local!owner-
ship!and!domestic!actors!lie!at!the!centre,!while!the!UN!as!an!external!actor!is!assigned!an!
accompanying!role!(UNSG,!2015:!47).!This!change,!also!referred!to!as!a!(/$#(.-&0*,!highlights!
increasing!awareness!of!the!importance!of!specific!societal,!cultural!and!historical!charac-
teristics!of!affected!societies.!Third,!‘sustaining!peace’!is!not!limited!to!post-conflict!situa-
tions!but!also!aims!to!prevent!a!lapse!into!conflict!in!the!first!place!and!is!thereby!linked!
more!closely!to!development!(UNSG,!2015:!17).!
Hence!‘sustaining!peace’!implies!“a!constant!and!longstanding!commitment,!where!bench-
marks!for!exit!remain!flexible”!(Bargués-Pedreny,!2018:!8).!Some!authors!criticise!this!shift!
to!the!‘sustaining!peace’!concept!as!it! can!be!understood!as!abandoning!the!possibility!of!
reaching!peace;!the!process!of!peacebuilding!is!now!conceptualised!as!being!without!a!“final!
deadline”!(Bargués-Pedreny,!2018:!142;!see!Jahanbegloo,! 2017).!Others!see!this!strategic!
shift! as! a! necessary! response! to! the! insight! that! peacebuilding! is! a! multidisciplinary,!!
complex! and! longer-term! process,! similar! to! the! multi-dimensional! concept! of! human!!
security!(Caparini!and!Milante,!2017:!221).!!
The!‘sustaining!peace’!concept!is!not!to!be!confused!with!the!concept!of!,&,-#'*#%(".!"#$",!
which!evolved!in!the! 1990s,!with!its!attempt!to! strengthen!linkages!between!sustainable!
development!and!peacebuilding.!One!fundamental!difference!is!that!in!contrast!to!‘sustain-
able!peace’,! the! ‘sustaining!peace’! concept! makes!almost! no! reference!to! environmental!!
phenomena,!nor!to!the!challenges!that!result!from!them,!although!sustainable!development!
is!an!important!contribution!to!sustaining!peace!(UNSG,!2015).!
In!a!parallel!and!seemingly!isolated!trend,!we!detect!a!growing!awareness!of!the!challenges!
that!environmental!phenomena,!and!especially!climate!change,!present!to!the!peacebuild-
ing!field.! The! publication!of! the!Routledge! Handbook!titled! “Environmental!Conflict! and!
Peacebuilding”!(Swain!and!Öjendal,!2018:!xxi)!is!advertised!as!“the!first”!to!present!an!over-
all!approach!of!environmental!peacebuilding!to!“policy!makers!and!students/researchers!
alike”.! Nevertheless,! the! research! on! the! linkages! between! environment,! development,!
peace!and!conflict!has!evolved!into!a!relatively!broad!body!of!literature!since!the!end!of!the!
Cold!War.!

J Hardt and J Scheffran Environmental Peacebuilding and Climate Change
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The!central! concern!of! this!paper! is!to! propose!a! pathway!to! address!the! links!between!!
environmental!phenomena!and!Peace!and!Conflict!Studies!in!a!more!comprehensive!way.!It!
proceeds!in!three!steps.!First,! we!undertake!a! literature!review! on!environmental! peace-
building,!through!the!two!main!strands!of!the!literature,!environmental!peace!and!environ-
mental!conflict.!The!purpose! is!to!make!the!underlying! logic!of!the!field!more! accessible.!
Second,! we! offer! a! critical! reading! that!reveals! deficits! and! pitfalls! in! some! of! the! main!!
rationales!in!the!literature.!Third!we!explore!pathways!to!further!advance!the!debates!and!
research.!!
Our!approach!is!informed!by!the!emerging!acceptance!that!we!live!in!a!new!geological!era,!
the!Anthropocene,!and,!flowing!from!that!insight,!the!differentiation!between!1*-20/!/$"*".
-2'*3'*+!and!4/(/$"*".-2'*3'*+!(Cudworth!and!Hobden,!2011).!According!to!Cudworth!and!
Hobden,!1*-20/!/$"*". -2'*3'*+!describes!a!dynamic! interrelated!human-nature! world!in!
contrast!to!4/(/$"*".-2'*3'*+!that!treats!natural!processes!as!separate!from!human!action.!!
Following!this!introduction,!the!paper!is!organised!in!three!sections.!The!next!section!gives!
an!overview!of!the!different!conceptualisations!of!the!linkages!of!environment!and!climate!
change!on!the!one!hand!and!conflict!and!peace!on!the!other,!which!over!time!have!emerged!
in! the! Peace! and! Conflict! Studies! literature.! The! critical! analysis! of! this! literature! is!!
discussed!in!Section!3.!In!Section!4!we!present!the!major!conclusions!and!recommendations!
with!regard!to!bridging!the!isolated!bodies!of!literature!and!further!developing!the!research!
into!the!field!of!Environmental!Peace!and!Conflict!Studies.!!
Stocktaking!of!the!Ties!that!Bind!Environment!to!Peacebuilding!!
In!this!section,!we!provide!an!overview!of!the!major!underlying!and!constitutive!theories!
which!relate!environment!and!climate!change!to!peacebuilding.!We!will!also!show!how!the!
approaches!to!the!interrelationship!between!environmental!issues!and!conflict,!peace!and!
cooperation!have!evolved.!In!order!to!facilitate!the!overview,!we!classify!and!differentiate!
chronologically!the!different!waves!of!research!relating!to!the!main!approaches!to!environ-
mental!conflict! and!environmental! peace.!As!highlighted!in! Table!1,!these! focal!points! of!
research!are!still!ongoing!and!are!being!addressed!in!parallel.!!
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Table!1:!Evolution!of!research!phases!of!the!literature!on!environmental!conflict!and!environmental!
peace.!Source:!Elaborated!by!the!authors!on!the!basis!of!Dalby!(2002),!Dalby,!Brauch,!and!Oswald!
Spring!(2009),!Hardt!(2018:!45).!
Start!Year!
Foci!and!content!of!the!environ-
mental-conflict!research!
Foci!and!content!of!the!environ-
mental-peace!research!
1989!
5'0,-.6#7".
Environmental!resources!and!
state!security!
8#0(9.,-&)'",!!
Concept!of!sustainable!peace!
1994-ongoing!
:"$/*).6#7"..
Environment!and!the!socio-!
political!dimensions!of!conflict!
2002!
5'0,-.6#7".
Environmental!issues!as!constitu-
tive!for!cooperation!and!peace!
2007-!ongoing!
;2'0).6#7".
Climate!change!as!a!trigger!for!
risks!and!conflicts!
:"$/*).6#7"..
Cooperation!through!and!against!
climate!change!!
2015-!ongoing!!
;2'0).6#7".!
Environmental!peacebuilding!
2018-!ongoing!
!
The!concurrent!emergence!of!a!fourth!wave!of!research!in!both!!
research!areas!
!
The!Links!Between!Environment,!Climate!Change!and!Conflict!!
Research!on!environmental!components!of! conflict!and!the!importance!of!environmental!
issues!in!relation!to!conflict!goes!back!to!the!early!1970s!and!has!remained!one!of!the!most!
important!research!issues!through!to!the!present!day.!.
In!the!final!phase!of!the!Cold!War!and!the!period!after,!a!number!of!publications!recognised!
linkages!between!military!security!and!environmental!security.!During!this!research!phase,!
the!main!focus!was!on!the!observations!of!increasingly!harmful!and!detrimental!repercus-
sions! of! environmental! destruction! affecting! societies! and! state! security.! In! particular,!!
concerns! about! environmental! destruction! brought! about! by! military! force! and! warfare!
were!raised,!including!nuclear!winter!and!other!environmental!risks!from!the!nuclear!arms!
race!and!war!(Westing,!1980,!1990).!In!this!period,!there!were!some!mentions!of!sustaina-
ble!development!as!a!contribution!to!security!(see!WECD,!1987),!but!the!major!approaches!
linking!environment!and!conflict!were!mostly!focused!on!environmental!resources!and!on!
how!the!scarcity!or!abundance! of!a! resource!might! cause!tensions!or!exacerbate!existing!
conflict.!This!link!is!still!one!of!the!most!important!research!issues!and!is!often!related!to!
water,!food!or!energy!resources,!to!which!we!refer!below.!

J Hardt and J Scheffran Environmental Peacebuilding and Climate Change
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The!second!wave!of!environmental-conflict!research!started!in!the!1990s!and,!importantly,!
was!triggered!by! a!broadening!conception!of! security.!The!growing!confluences!between!
Peace!and! Conflict!Studies! (as!well! as!Security! Studies)!with! Development!Studies!influ-
enced!the!conception!of!security!and!conflict!in!the!context!of!multiple!complex!challenges!
related! to! socio-political! causes! and! consequences.! The! increasing! acknowledgement! of!!
environmental!destruction,!and!how!this! influenced!conflict,! was!an!important!driver!for!
this!evolution.!!
This!second!wave!of!research!was!advanced!by!the!work!of!several!scholars!and!by!institu-
tions!such!as!the!University!of!Toronto,!the!Swiss!Federal!Institute!of!Technology!and!the!
Swiss!Peace!Foundation!(Dalby,!2002;!Dalby,!Brauch!and!Oswald!Spring,!2009).!The!main!
concern!of!these!highly!diverse!research!projects!was!to!verify!the!assumption!that!envi-
ronmental!issues!can!trigger!conflict! in!relation!to! state!security! (Dalby,!2002).!A! central!
reference!here!is!the!(University!of)!Toronto!school!that!marks!the!traditional!approach!of!
the!literature!on!environmental!conflict.!It!focuses!mainly!on!the!question!of!whether!envi-
ronmental!scarcity!can! precipitate!violent!conflict.!According! to!the!lead-author,!Thomas!
Homer-Dixon!(1994:!25),!the!multiple!effects!of!environmental!scarcity!(including!popula-
tion!movement!and!economic!decline)!have!negative!and!cumulative!social!impacts,!such!as!
weakening!or!de-legitimising!states.!Homer-Dixon’s!most!relevant!research!finding!is!that!
environmental!scarcity!may!contribute!to!conflict,!but! that!this!is!more!likely!to!take!the!
form!of!sub-national!diffuse!violence!than!of!inter-state!war.!
Another! important! reference! to! environmental-conflict! is! the! 8*7'0/*<"*-. #*). =/*>('$-,.
?0/@"$-!(ENCOP),!carried!out!by!the!Centre!for!Security!Studies!and!Conflict!Research!of!the!
Swiss!Federal!Institute!of!Technology!and!the!Swiss!Peace!Foundation.!The!main!focus!was!
on!the!interrelationship!between!environmental!degradation,!mal-development!and!violent!
conflict,! whereby! conflict! was! described! as! a! multi-faceted! process,! highlighting! the!!
importance!of!socio-political!factors,!such!as!social!injustice!and!inequitable!resource!access!
(Baechler,!1998:!25).!In!contrast!to!the!Toronto!school,!ENCOP!located!the!cause!and!the!
trigger!of!possible!environmental!conflict!in!society!and!thereby!had!a!more!political!and!
critical!approach.!
Several!other! research!projects! on!environmental!conflict! have!been! led!by! adelphi! (see!
Lietzman!and!Carius!1999),!the!Environmental!Change!and!Security!Program!(ECSP)!of!the!
Woodrow!Wilson!Center!(www.newsecuritybeat.org),!and!by!the!Peace!Research!Institute!
Oslo!(Diehl!and!Gleditsch,!2000).!Most!of!these!approaches!had!a!specific!focus!on!how!en-
vironmental!issues!lead!to!conflicts!in!relation!to!states!and!the!international!state!system.!!
During!the!same!time!period,!other!researchers!focused!on!the!vulnerability!of!societies!and!
on!the!question!of!how!global,!regional!and!local!environmental!change!affects,!inhibits!and!
undermines! development.! Prominent! activities! of! the! research! community! include! the!!
project!A(/%#(.8*7'0/*<"*-#(.=2#*+".#*).4&<#*.:"$&0'-9!(GECHS)!and!the!B*'-").C#-'/*,.
B*'7"0,'-9.D*,-'-&-"./>.8*7'0/*<"*-. #*). 4&<#*. :"$&0'-9,!which!further!pushed!the!conflu-
ence! between! the! environmental-conflict! literature,! the! concept! of! human! security! and!!
Development!Studies.!!

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In!addition!to!these!joint!research!efforts,!several!authors!contributed!research!on!environ-
mental!conflict!(see! e.g.! Scheffran!and! Vogt,!1998)! and,!at! the!turn! of!the! century,!high-
lighted!the!importance! of!the! under-researched!debate!on! sustainable!development! and!
peace!(Scheffran!and!Vogt,!1998:!9).!Among!these!authors,!the!consequences!of!military!ac-
tivity!during!war!and!peace!times!were!an!important!concern!(Dalby,!2002;!Barnett,!2000;!
2001).!!
;2'0).6#7"E.=('<#-".=2#*+".#,.#.;0'++"0.>/0.:"$&0'-9.F',3,.#*).=/*>('$-,.
The!third!wave!of!research!which!commenced!in!2007!(the!year!of!the!release!of!the!4th!
IPCC! report),! was! characterised! by! a! shift! of! focus! to! the! climate! –! conflict! link.! In! this!!
context,!climate!change!and!its!environmental!effects!are!presented!as!either!triggers,!stress!
multipliers!or!causes!of!conflicts!and!risks.!Much!of!the!research!has!focused!on!quantitative!
statistical! analyses! of! climate-conflict! linkages! (see! the! overview! in! Mach! et! al.,! 2019).!!
Theoretical! conceptualisations! and! system! models,! such! as,! for! example,! the! integrated!
framework!of!interaction!between!climate!change,!natural!resources,!human!security!and!
societal!instability!(Scheffran!et!al.,!2012),!have!received!less!attention.!!
Some!authors!conceived!more!explicit!linkages!between!climate!change!and!conflict!by!put-
ting!forward!the!notion!of!so-called!$('<#-".6#0,!(see!Welzer,!2012;!Dyer,!2009).!While!this!
deterministic!approach!has!been!heavily! debated!and!criticised,!reference!is!made!to,!for!
example,! the! wars! in! Darfur! and! Syria.! Implicit! in! a! historical! representation! of! climate!!
determinism!is!the!assumption!that!climate! change!has!been! a!key!impact! factor!in!long-
term!cycles!over!the!last!centuries!of!human!evolution!and!related!economic!crises,!social!
instability,!conflict!and!migration!(Zhang!et!al.,!2007:!19214-19219).!
Often!studies!link!climate!change!to!conflict!more!indirectly,!for!example!by!exploring!how!
the!military!affects!climate!change!(see!Barnett,!2007)!or!how!climate!change!contributes!
to!poverty!and!inequality!and!thereby!creates!fertile!ground!for!the!recruitment!of!fighters!
and!terrorists!(see!Interpol!UN!Environment!Report,!2016).!!
Another!strand!of!research!is!connected!to!the!concept!of!human!security!and!examines!the!
impact!that!climate!change!has!on!societies!through!undermining!development!which!then!
leads!to!conflict!(Barnett!and!Adger,!2007:!651).!Several!studies!suggest!that!climate!change!
vulnerability! increases! the! likelihood! of! the! outbreak! of!conflict! and! thereby! leads! to! a!!
7'$'/&,.$9$("!(see!e.g.!Besigye,!2013).!Smith!and!Vivekananda!(2007:!158)!outline!a!similar!
relationship,!stating:!
If! the! relationship! between! climate! change! and! violent! conflict! is! not!!
addressed,!there!will!be!a!vicious!circle!of!failure!to!adapt!to!climate!change,!
worsening!the!rise!of!violent!conflict!and,!in!turn,!reducing!further!the!ability!
to!adapt.!
The!2014!IPCC!report!also!relates!climate!change!to!conflict:!
[C]limate!change!can!indirectly!increase!risks!of!violent!conflicts!in!the!form!
of!civil!war!and!inter-group!violence!by!amplifying!well-documented!drivers!

J Hardt and J Scheffran Environmental Peacebuilding and Climate Change
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of!these!conflicts!such!as!poverty!and!economic!shocks!(<")'&<.$/*>')"*$").!
Multiple!lines!of!evidence!relate!climate!variability!to!these!forms!of!conflict.!
(IPCC!Summary,!2014:!20).!!
The!nexus!between!climate!change!and!conflict!often!includes!the!factor!of!migration.!Since!
the!strong!migration!movements!in!2015,!which!affected!several!countries!of!the!European!
Union,! this! climate-migration-conflict! nexus! has! received! considerable! attention! among!
public!and!policy-makers,!journalists!and!researchers!(Scheffran,!2017)!
=0'-'$',<./>.-2".8*7'0/*<"*-#(G=/*>('$-.;2"/09.
Since!its!inception,!the!research!on!the!links!between!the!environment!and!conflict!has!been!
accompanied!by! critical!questions.! The!core!criticism! is!that! a!clear!correlation!between!!
environment,! climate! change! and! conflict! has! not! been! proven.! The! latest! IPCC! special!!
report!(2018)!recommends!caution!regarding!possible!sample!biases!and!the!overestima-
tion!of!this!link.!In!response!to!Hsiang!and!Burke!(2014),!Buhaug!et!al.!(2014:!396)!high-
lighted!“that! research!to! date!has! failed!to! converge!on! a!specific! and!direct!association!!
between!climate!and!violent!conflict.”!!
In!this!context,!the! research!designs! that!link!climate!change! to!conflict!are!criticised!for!
their! over-reliance! on! mixed-method! approaches! and! broad! meta-analysis! with! little!!
evidence!for!a!strong!correlation!between!the!variables!of!climate!change!and!conflict!(see!
Ide!and!Scheffran,!2014;!Ide!et!al.,!2018).!Another!important!criticism!that!points!at!a!biased!
approach!to!research! design!and!to! narrow!policy!interests! is! the!geographically!limited!
focus!on!certain!regions,!mainly!Africa,!in!contrast!to,!for!example,!Asia!or!Oceania!(Adams!
et!al.,!2018:!200).!This!is!called!the!streetlight!effect!(Hendrix,!2017).!Along!with!other!au-
thors,!Adams!et!al.!(2018:!202)!argue!that!the!sampling!bias!of!the!climate–conflict!research!
field!is!due!to!factors!such!as!geopolitical!interest!or!data!availability,!which!in!turn!leads!to!
overrepresentation!of!certain! regions!that!are!in! consequence!“stigmatized!as!inherently!
violent!and!unable!to!cope!with!climate!change!peacefully”.!!
The!Links!between!Environment,!Climate!Change!and!Peacebuilding!
The! criticism! of! the! environmental-conflict! literature! outlined! above! has! importantly!!
contributed!to!a!shift!of!focus!so!as!to!also!address!the!linkages!between!environment,!peace!
and!cooperation.!The!environmental-peace!thesis!has!been!articulated!as!a!counter-move!
to!environmental!conflict.!Although!environmental!peacebuilding!emerged!in!the!2000s,!it!
was!pre-empted!by!other!alternative!conceptions,!in!particular!the!concept!of!sustainable!
peace!which!goes!back!to!the!1990s!(e.g.!Scheffran,!1996,!2011;!for!more!recent!perspec-
tives!see!Brauch!et!al.,!2016)!and!addresses!multiple!linkages!in!the!nexus!between!sustain-
ability,!development!and!peace.!The!concept!of!sustainable!peace!aims!to!protect!the!Earth!
against! environmental! threats! and! to! harmonise! conflicting! goals! of! environmental! and!!
security!policy.!It!furthermore!aims!to!implement!local!and!global!governance!and!develop!
a!preventive! strategy! of!global! risk! reduction,!rooted! in! the!satisfaction! of! basic!human!
needs!without!destroying!the!natural!conditions!of!life.!It!strives!to!minimise!the!negative!
interactions!between!armed!conflict,!environmental!destruction!and!low!levels!of!develop-
ment,! which! would! lead! to! a! ‘vicious! cycle’! of! a! non-peaceful! and! unsustainable! world.!!

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Instead,!the!concept!aims!at!a!mutually!enforcing!‘virtuous!cycle’!by!strengthening!positive!
linkages! between! human! development,! environmental! protection! and! peace-building!
(Scheffran,!2016),!thus!serving!as!a!framework!for!environmental!peace-building.!
5'0,-.H#7"E.8*7'0/*<"*-#(.D,,&",.#,.=/*,-'-&-'7"./>.=//!"0#-'/*.
The! >'0,-. 6#7"!of! the! environmental-peace! debate! investigated! whether! environmental!!
cooperation! contributes! to! peace,! discussing! several! linkages! (see! Conca,! 2001;! Conca,!
Carius!and!Dabelko,!2005).!Different!environmental!characteristics!were!identified!as!con-
stitutive!of!cooperation,!for!example:!environmental!issues!require!long-term!perspectives!
and!anticipatory! actions,! they!ignore! political! boundaries,!different! levels! (from!local! to!
global)!must!be!taken!into! account!when! addressing!them,!as! well!as! sudden,!surprising,!
and! dramatic! changes.! These! characteristics! are! seen! as! strengthening! peacebuilding!!
because!cooperation!transforms!conflict!through!building!trust!and!confidence,!encourag-
ing!local!and!nongovernmental!participation,!extending!community!building!beyond!polar-
ising!economic!linkages,!establishing!legal!rights!and!addressing!a!broad!variety!of!stake-
holders!and!groups!(Conca,!Carius!and!Dabelko,!2005:!149-157).!!
Another!argument!in!favour!of!the!link!between!environment,!peace!and!cooperation!is!that!
environmental!cooperation!at!a!large!scale!is!presented!as!the!&(-'<#-"!strategy!for!effec-
tively!facing!the!ecological!challenge!(Conca!and!Dabelko,!2002).!The!main!idea!of!the!envi-
ronmental!peace!thesis!is!to!respond!to!the!two!challenges!of!conflict!and!environmental!
destruction!through!one!approach.!Practical!expressions!of!the!environmental!peace!thesis!
are,!for!example,!peace!parks!(see!Brock,!1991)!and!the!communitarian!use,!management!
and!conservation!of!shared!water!resources,!such!as!the!case!of!the!Okavango!River
2
.!
:"$/*).H#7"E.=//!"0#-'/*.'*.F",!/*,".-/.#*).#+#'*,-.=('<#-".=2#*+".
The!second!wave!of!environmental!peace!focuses!more!explicitly!on!climate!change!and!was!
initiated!in!close!proximity!to!the!4th!Assessment!Report!IPCC!(2007).!This!report!provoked!
a!broader!awareness!of!the!disruptive!consequences!that!climate!change!and!more!gener-
ally! global! environmental! change! have! on! societies! and! states! (see! Dalby,!Brauch! and!!
Oswald!Spring,!2009).!An!important!argument!is!similar!to!the!rationale!of!the!first!wave,!
namely!that!peaceful!cooperation!is!a!strategy!or!even!a!necessity!to!address!and!minimise!
climate!change,!which!would!otherwise!lead!to!conflict!(Buhaug,!2016:!336).!!
Another!focus!of!the!climate!change-peace!approach!is!on!vulnerable!societies,!based!on!the!
acknowledgment! that! vulnerable! societies! are! often! geographically! more! exposed! to!!
climate!change! and!often!“lack! the!capacity!to! manage!these!impacts”! (see!e.g.!Matthew,!
2014:!114).!Furthermore,!Matthew!(2014:!124)!states:!“Post-conflict!societies!are!perhaps!
the!most!fragile!societies!on!the!planet,!and!to!try!to!assist!them!while!ignoring!the!insights!
of!climate!science!would!be!irresponsible!and!dangerous”.!!
A!further! argument! is!that! if!efforts! to! fight!climate! change!and! establish! peace!are! not!!
undertaken,! dealing! with! ensuing! violent! conflicts! will! be! much! more! expensive! than!!
2
!See!at:!http://www.tbpa.net/page.php?ndx=78!(accessed!in!August!2019).!

J Hardt and J Scheffran Environmental Peacebuilding and Climate Change
9
climate!change!adaptation!(Smith! and!Vivekananda,!2007:!175).!Based! on!these! insights,!
several!authors! recommend!intervention,!support! and!provision! of! directives!for! peace-
building!in!relation!to!climate!change,!arguing!that!the!effects!of!building!resilience!against!
climate!change!also!help!in!the!peacebuilding!process!(see!also!Brzoska!et!al.,!2012;!Schil-
ling!et!al.,!2017).!Therefore,!simultaneously!addressing!climate!change!and!peacebuilding!
is!described!as!a!necessity!and!as!a!win-win!situation!(see!Besigye,!2013).!!
;2'0).H#7"E.8*7'0/*<"*-#(.?"#$"%&'()'*+.
Many!of! the! ties!outlined!above! are! taken!up! again!in! the! recently!published! Routledge!
Handbook!(Swain!and! Öjendal,! 2018)!which! presents!environmental! conflict! and!peace-
building! and! climate! change! as! new! and! important! issue! areas.! It! revives! many! of! the!!
already!described! linkages!between! environment,!climate! change,! conflict!and! peace.!As!
such,! we! refer! to! this! book! as! an! example! for! explicitly! detecting! major! rationales! that!!
underpin!the!environmental!peacebuilding!literature.!
This!includes!the!impetus!to!show!the!linkages!between!environment!and!peace!and!thus!
stress!the!importance!of!environmental!peacebuilding!(Swain!and!Öjendal,!2018).!Environ-
ment!and! climate! change!are! also!described!as! a! bridge!or! as!a! vehicle!to! bring! conflict!!
parties!together!or!to!alleviate!the!mistrust!and!open!up!a!frozen!conflict!in!which!active!
fighting! has! stopped! without! resolving! the! conflict!(Swain! and! Öjendal,! 2018).! This! is!!
possible!because!environmental!issues!are!considered!as!“low!politics”!(Conca!and!Beevers,!
2018:!63).!Furthermore,!climate!change!functions!as!“a!threat!to!unite!against;!the!need!for!
adaptation!offers!a!task!on!which!to! cooperate”!and!as!such! brings!different!(conflicting)!
actors,! communities! or! parties! together! (Smith! and! Vivekananda,! 2007:! 174).! In! other!
words,!the!environment!primarily!functions!as!a!dimension!and/or!as!a!new!entry!point!to!
solve!conflicts.!.
Another! important! rationale! is! that! peace! and! sustainability! are! becoming! mutually!!
dependent!as!“neither!peace!nor!sustainability!will!be!possible!without!the!other”!(Amster,!
2018:!74),!an!argument!also!put!forward!in!the!literature!on!sustainable!peace!(Scheffran,!
2016).!
These! linkages! lead! to! three! main! consequences.! First,! processes! of! conflict! and! peace!!
cannot!be!treated!or!even!conceived!in!isolation!from!the!environment!therefore!a!broad!
coalition!and!trans-disciplinary!pool!of!actors,!knowledge!and!experts!is!required.!Second,!
climate!and!environmental!politics!need!to!be!critically!analysed!as!new!domains!that!influ-
ence! peace! and! conflict! situations.! Third,! celebrated! by! several! authors,! is! the! resulting!!
win-win!strategy!of!environmental!peacebuilding!that!simultaneously!addresses!sustaina-
bility,!peace!and!conflict!(Matthew,!2014;!2018;!Milante,!2017).!!
=0'-'$',<.#*).I"%#-",./*.8*7'0/*<"*-#(.?"#$".#*).8*7'0/*<"*-#(.?"#$"%&'()'*+.
The!main!debate!on!environment-peace!relations!and!environmental!peacebuilding!in!con-
nection!to!climate!change!questions!the!validity!of!the!link.!Ide!(2018)!and!Ide!et!al.!(2018)!
makes! the! point! that! there! is! no! common! definition! of! what! constitutes! environmental!
peace! and! cooperation.! This! makes! it! difficult! to! prove! that! environmental! cooperation!

Policy Brief No. 68 Toda Peace Institute
10
causes!peace(–building).!Thus,!environmental!cooperation!can!merely!be!seen!as!a!>#$'('-#G
-/0!for!more!general!cooperation!and!peacebuilding!(Ide,!2018:!361).!!
Another!debate!focuses!on!who!is!in!charge!of!including!climate!change!and!environmental!
issues!into!peacebuilding.!The!traditional!actor,!the!military,!has!been!fundamentally!criti-
cised!by!some!and!praised!by!others!for!its!ability!to!serve!this!purpose.!!
J*.-2".8)+"./>.#.C"6.F","#0$2.H#7".
As!we!compare!the! basic!rationales! in!the!different! research!waves!described! above,!we!
recognise!that!the!exploration!of!the!links!between!environmental!and!climate!change!on!
the!one!hand!and!peace!and!conflict!on!the!other!is!repeated!throughout!the!evolution!of!
the!research!on!environmental!peacebuilding.!The!progress!made!in!pursuing!these!rela-
tively!broad!and!mature!research!questions!is!therefore!relatively!limited,!if!we! consider!
the!underlying!concepts.!There!are,!however,!some!promising!developments!in!the!research!
field,!which!seem!to!have!the!potential!to!invoke!substantial!progress.!!
The!first!is!the!general!motivation!to!set!up!better!visibility!and!acceptance!of!the!field!(see!
Swain!and!Öjendal,!2018).!Very!recently,!the!Environmental!Peacebuilding!Association!was!
created!celebrating!its!first!conference!in!2019!at!the!University!of!Irvine!(California).!!
The!second!development!is!a!tendency!to!move!from!theory!to!practice.!The!focus!on!spe-
cific!tools!and!ways!to!transform!the!traditional!peacebuilding!projects!and!policies!through!
the!inclusion!of!climate!and!environmental!change!is!innovative!and!could!be!viewed!as!a!
marker!for!initiating!a!new!wave!of!research.!Instead!of!describing,!questioning!or!problem-
atising!the!link!between!environment,!peace!and!conflict,!the!focus!is!on!how!and!where!to!
implement!strategies!against!climate!change!or!take!environmental!issues!into!considera-
tion.!In!this!context,!several!authors!point!to!the!necessity!for!longer!time!perspectives!for!
peacebuilding!as!being!beneficial!to!donors!and!people!in!conflict!situations!(Matthew,!2014;!
2018;! Milante,! 2017).! Others! suggest! focusing! on! areas! that! go! beyond! the! nation! state!
boundaries! (Mobjörk,! 2017)! or! including! mitigation! and! adaptation! policies! for! climate!
change!in!peacebuilding!processes!(Besigye,!2013:!24).!!
In! order! to! facilitate! the! process! of! including! climate! change! in! peacebuilding,! Matthew!
(2014)!provides!a!good!overview!of!several!obstacles.!He!points!to!the!difficulty!of!estab-
lishing!an!inventory!of!practical!tools!that!would!be!easily!accessible!to!the!many!architects!
of!reconstruction!and!capacity-building!and!the!necessity!of!maintaining!a!general!aware-
ness!of!the!people!who!work!on!the!issue!of!peacebuilding!(Matthew,!2014:!121).!
Other!authors!highlight!that!the!integration!of!the!environment!in!peacebuilding!strategies!
and!activities!is!important!in!order!to!reduce!the!impact!caused!by!the!peacebuilding!sector!
itself.!Through!“crude!exploitation!of!natural!resources,!unsustainable!environmental!prac-
tices,!and!massive!threat!to!resource-based!local!livelihoods”!the!peacebuilding!sector!can!
create!“short-term! urgency”!and! “long-term!unsustainability”! (Swain!and!Öjendal,! 2018:!
10).!!

J Hardt and J Scheffran Environmental Peacebuilding and Climate Change
11
Another!proposal!to!move!the!field!into!new!directions!is!to!include!different!theories.!Le!
Billon!and!Duffy!(2018:!247)!outline!fruitful!results!that!have!come!from!informing!Peace!
and!Conflict!Studies!with!Political!Ecology!as!a!theoretical!basis!for!addressing!environmen-
tal!concerns!and!human-nature!relations.!They!state!that!Political!Ecology!can!contribute!to!
Peace!and!Conflict!Studies!through!reconceptualising!“scarcity,!abundance!and!dependence!
temporally!through!historically-grounded!analysis”! and!through!situating! these!concepts!
“within!uneven!power!relations!and!resource!entitlements”!(Le!Billon!and!Duffy,!2018:!247).!!
We!also!note!a!promising!new!research!programme!that!aims!to!re-focus!on!regions!other!
than!Africa,!which!so!far!has!received!most!attention;!The!Toda!Peace!Institute!has!devel-
oped! a! programme! dealing! with! climate–induced! conflict! and! conflict-sensitive!climate!
change!policies!in!Oceania.!Another!example!of!such!a!trend!is! shown!in!the!fact!that! the!
first!Environmental!Peacebuilding!Conference!in!Irvine!included!a!specific!regional!focus!on!
Colombia.!
After!this!overview!of!the!evolution!of!the!research!field,!we!come!to!the!interim!conclusion!
that!within!the!field,!the!search!for! a!broader!and! encompassing! framework!that!bridges!
theory!and!practice!seems!to!be!on!its!way.!
Critical!Analysis!of!Rationales!for!Environmental!Peacebuilding!in!the!Context!
of!Climate!Change!
We!turn!to!a!critical!examination!of!the!above!outlined!rationales!that!underpin!the!envi-
ronmental!peacebuilding!literature,!including!environmental!conflict!and!climate!security!
risks.! This! examination! is! guided! by! some! major! insights! that! emerge! from! critical!!
approaches! to! peacebuilding,! climate! science! and! Anthropocene! studies! and! points! at!!
several!deficits!and!problematic!implications.!A!main!motivation!for!this!section!is!that!the!
field!is!poised!for!transformation,! and!therefore! there!is!an!opportunity!to! provide!some!
impulses! that! can! be! useful! for! policy-makers,! such! as! the! emergence! of! new! research!!
programmes!which!systematically!engage!with!existing!knowledge!and!research!results.!To!
do!so,!we!are!firstly!demarcating!the!pitfalls!and!blind!spots!of!the!literature,!and!secondly!
providing!recommendations!on!how!to! address!important! research!gaps,!along! the!path-
ways!of!critical!theory.!
Bias!Towards!Conflict!
The!overall!assessment!of! the!environmental!peacebuilding!literature!confirms!the! exist-
ence!of!an!important!bias!towards!conflict!and!violence!(see!Barnett,!2018).!Several!varia-
tions!of!the!climate!and!environmental!conflict!thesis!dominate!a! number!of!publications!
and!receive!extensive!(public,!media,!policy!and!academic)!attention,!often!limiting!peace!
research!to!the!study!of!war!(Gleditsch!et!al.,!2014).!Furthermore,!the!environmental!peace!
thesis! is! in! fact! also! related! to! a! third! wave! of! environmental! conflict! studies:! several!!
authors!criticise!that!the!central!focus!of!analysis!is!still!on!violence!and!conflict!(or!their!
absence),!not!on!peace!(Dalby,!Brauch!and!Oswald!Spring,!2009:!782;!Barnett,!2018:!3-4).!
Another!striking!fact!is!that!a!definition!of!positive!environmental!peace!remains!to!be!de-
veloped!(see!Dalby,!2018:!11;!Swatuk,!2018:!322;!325)!-!we!will!elaborate!on!this!below.!!

Policy Brief No. 68 Toda Peace Institute
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Missing!Anthropocene!Thinking!!!
We! observe! that! most! of! the! environmental! peace! and! conflict! literature! conceives! the!!
environment!or!climate!change!as!one!dimension!of,!or!as!a!trigger!for,!peace!or!conflict.!As!
described!above,!the!environment!or!climate!change!is!even!proposed!as!a!v"2'$("!for!reach-
ing!conflict!resolution!and!maintaining!political!stability.!This!approach!is!relatively!limited!
because!many!highly!complex!phenomena!are!ignored,!along!with!several!other!essential!
characteristics!of!the!environment,!such!as!the!indivisible!complex!interrelations!with!other!
ecological!processes!including!disruptions!such!as!biodiversity!loss!and!ocean!acidification.!
The!interlinkages!of!these!different!processes!and!the!important!characteristics!of!intracta-
bility!and!irreversibility!still!need!to!be!acknowledged!in!the!literature!on!environmental!
peacebuilding.! Current! approaches! mainly! communicate! the! possibility! of! managing! the!
complex!human-nature! entanglements,!which! treat!climate! change!and! nature!as! if!they!
were!linear!stable!processes.!In!the!context!of!the!emerging!acceptance!of!a!new!geological!
era,! the! Anthropocene,! and! the! recent! IPCC! special! report! (2018),! this! assumption! of!!
controlling!inputs!and!outputs!of!human-nature!relations!has!been!proven!to!be!profoundly!
wrong,!once!again.!It!is!striking!that!climate!change!gained!so!much!attention!in!2007!as!to!
induce!new!research!waves!on!environmental!peace!and!conflict,!while!the!concepts!of!the!
Anthropocene!and!the!Earth!System!Sciences!(see!e.g.!Rockström!et!al.,!2009)!have!received!
rather!little!attention.!In!contrast!to!the!understanding!of!the!Anthropocene!as!a!dynamic!
human/nature!interrelationship,!most!of!the!environmental!peace!and!conflict!literature!is!
still!anchored! in!the! analysis!of! human-human!relations! in!the! tradition!of! the!4/(/$"*".
-2'*3'*+,!where!natural!processes!are!separated!from!and!merely!seen!as!a!background!for!
human!action.!
Alienation!of!Political!Causes!and!Actors!!
Another!important!shortcoming!that!underpins!the!literature!is!the!assumption!of!a!win-
win!strategy!through!a!combination!of!sustainability,!peace!and!equity.!We!do!not!negate!
the!likelihood!that!addressing!the!effects!of!climate!change!may!create!synergies!for!tackling!
development,!poverty,!security,!conflict!and! peace.!Nevertheless,!we! recommend!caution!
about!the!assumption!that!a!win-win!strategy! simultaneously!addressing!climate!change,!
endangered! ecosystems,! underdevelopment,! conflict! and! vulnerability! can! work! in! one!
strike.! The! spill-over! effects! still! require! further! research! (see! Dresse! et! al.,! 2018).! We!!
assume!that!strategies!that!claim!to!address!all!of!these!in!one!approach!are!likely!to!fail.!
This!probability!of!failure!increases!if!the!root!causes!of!climate!change!are!not!addressed!
and,!as!Hayes!(2016:!40)!highlights,!many!of!the!contemporary!approaches!to!environmen-
tal!peacebuilding!deflect!attention!away!from!these!causes.!!
The!approach!focusing!on!so-called!“hotspots”!directs!political!responsibility!towards!the!
weakest!and!most!affected!regions!and!people,!away!from!the!major!structures!and!centres!
of! power! which,! in! the! context! of! climate! change,! are! located! elsewhere.! The! so-called!
hotspot!focus!overloads!the!communities!suffering!from!conflict!situations!with!the!respon-
sibility!to!reduce!the!effects!of!climate!change!for!the!sake!of!humanity!and!to!simultane-
ously!maintain!international!security.!Other!issues,!such!as!major!environmental!polluters!
that!are!situated!in!“peaceful!regions”!of!the!world,!receive!none!or!little!of!the!attention!
they!deserve!as!contributors!to!climate!change.!This!focus!away!from!root!causes!has!also!

J Hardt and J Scheffran Environmental Peacebuilding and Climate Change
13
been!described!by!critical!peacebuilding!scholars!who!do!not!refer!to!environmental!issues.!
Mac!Ginty!(2013:!389),!for!example,!pointed!out!that!“many!of!the!roots!of!violent!conflict!
and!the!means!to!turn!the!tide!against!conflict!reside!in!the!global!north”.!!
De-politicisation!of!Climate!Change!
In!the!above!outlined!rationales,!there!is!a!tendency!to!de-politicise!climate!change!in!the!
sense!that!it!is!taken!for!granted!and!portrayed!as!an!apolitical!phenomenon.!At!times,!it!is!
even!described! as!a!positive! phenomenon!that! unites!several!parties! in!cooperation! and!
peaceful! action.! In! contrast,! a! critical! political! inquiry! of! these! framings! posits! that! the!
causes! of! climate! change! and! the! actors! responsible! for! it! need! to! be! included! into! the!!
analytical!framing!of!the!climate!change!–!conflict!nexus.!This!requires!a!broader!geographic!
and! temporal! scope! of! analysis! (see! Dalby,! 2018;! Hardt,! 2018)! that! goes! beyond! the!!
contemporary!state!of!the!art!in!Peace!and!Conflict!Studies.!!
Another!contribution!that!critical!approaches!can!make!is!to!unpack!how!peacebuilding!is!
‘read’,!by!whom!and!why!(Mac!Ginty,!2013:!2;!5).!The!political!interests!inherent!in!certain!
discourses,!research!designs!and!geographical!foci!require!more!attention,!especially!in!the!
context!of! environmental!peacebuilding.!The! technocratic!and! managerial!approaches!to!
environmental! peacebuilding! rely! on! certain! norms.! They! include! certain! actors! in! the!!
decision-making!process,!and!exclude!others!and!therefore!serve!different!actors.!As!Cox!
(1981:!128)!states:! theory!always!serves!someone! or!some!purpose,!which! is!not!neces-
sarily!obvious,!or! even!hidden.!Furthermore,!Aggestam!(2018:!104-105)! is!critical!of!the!
technocratic!approach!to!the!climate!–!conflict!nexus!as!it!reduces!external!responsibility!
and!accountability.!
Universalist!Versus!Pluralist!Visions!of!Peace!
The!analysis!also!reveals!that!in!spite!of!the!absence!of!a!clear!definition!of!environmental!
peace(-building),!the!literature! is!strongly!anchored! in!the!notion! of!J*".?"#$",! meaning!
that!there!is!only!one!possible!definition!of!peace!and!one!way!that!it!unfolds.!This!becomes!
clearer!when!we!look!at!the!literature!by!making!use!of!the!differentiation!between!‘prob-
lem-solving’!on!the!one!hand!and!‘critical!change’!on!the!other:!it!reveals!the!tendency!to!
de-politicise! which! ultimately! reduces! peace(-building)! to! a! technical! exercise! based! on!
problem-solving! theory! (Newman,! 2013;! Aggestam,! 2018;! Goetze,! 2017).! This! critique!!
particularly!applies!to!the!latest!calls!to!move!from!theory!to!practice,!through!the!inclusion!
of!mitigation!and! adaptation! policies!into! peacebuilding.! Goetze!(2017:! 4)!describes! the!!
rationale!of!this!approach:!“The!question!is!to!find!the!right!screws!to!turn,!and!peacebuild-
ing!will!build!peace”.!In!this!reading,!the!new!foci!on!sustaining!peace,!the!hotspot!focus!and!
the!inclusion!of!climate!change!into!peacebuilding!seem!to!be!other!‘screws’!to!turn!in!order!
to!reach!the!desired!goal,!which!is!one!particular!form!of!peace,!based!on!universalism.!This!
approach!is!again!linked!to!the!simplification,!de-politicisation!and!technocratic!solutions!
outlined! above.! The! mainstream! environmental! peacebuilding! literature! relies! on! this!!
universalist!conception!of!peace,!which!falls!short!in!several!ways,!as!it!ignores!pluralistic!
visions!of!peace!(see!e.g.!Juyal,!2017;!Koivukoski,!2017)!or!the!possibility!of!analysing!situ-
ations!in! which!conflict! and! cooperation!occur! at!the! same!times! in!different! forms! and!
places!(see!Conca!and!Beevers!2018:!69).!

Policy Brief No. 68 Toda Peace Institute
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Conclusions!and!Recommendations!for!Future!Pathways!
This!policy!brief!provided!an!overview!and!a!critical!assessment!of!the!major!rationales!be-
hind!the!approaches!that!bind!the!environment!and!climate!change!to!conflict!and!peace.!
While! the! acknowledgement! of! climate! change! in! peacebuilding! has! been! recently! pre-
sented! as! a! novelty,! we! have! shown! that! the! discourse! on! the! climate! change! –!!
conflict/peace!nexus!to!a!certain!extent!is!“old!wine!in!new!bottles”:!the!underlying!linkages!
have!been!repeatedly!addressed!in!the!course!of!the!evolution!of!the!literature!on!environ-
ment!and!conflict/peace!since!the!end!of!the!Cold!War.!
A!critical!analysis!allowed!the!unpacking!of!the!particular!ways!in!which!environment!and!
climate!change!are!addressed!in!Peace!and!Conflict!Studies;!we!pointed!at!some!of!the!main!
constraints!and!blind!spots!of!the!environmental!conflict!and!peace!framework.! We!have!
shown!that!an!important!shortcoming!of!the!major!body!of!literature!is!that!it!is!limited!to!
a!conception! of!the!world! that!dichotomises!humans! and!Earth! as!separate!entities! and,!!
accordingly,!addresses! climate!change! or!environment! as!a! controllable!dimension.! This!!
literature!lacks!a!holistic!understanding!and!downplays!the!importance!of!climate!change!
as!a!major!global!challenge.!Hence!problem-solving,!technocratic!approaches!and!manage-
rial,!de-politicising!tendencies!dominate!the!field.!These!approaches!are!connected!to!the!
conception!of!J*".?"#$",!with!‘peace’!defined!only!in!relation!to!violence!and!conflict!(or!the!
absence!thereof).!Hence!there!is!a! clear!bias!towards! conflict!and! violence.!This!makes!it!
necessary!to!further!the!work!on!a!definition!of!(environmental)!peace.!!
An!overall!conclusion!refers!to!the!blueprint!of!the!concept!of!sustaining!peace!and!to!its!
ignorance!with!regard!to!environmental!issues,!as!well!to!the!shortcomings!of!the!environ-
mental!peacebuilding!literature!in!general.!The!aim!to!work!towards!peace!or!to!conceptu-
alise!peace,!will!be!possible!only!when!the!basic!condition!of!our!earthbound!existence!is!
addressed,!and!the!disruptive!changes!that!humanity!and!especially!the!rich!and!powerful!
have!brought!to!the!world!in!form!of!climate!change!and!the!Anthropocene!are!tackled.!!
In!the!following,!we!outline!openings!for!future!research,!based!on!our!argument!that!the!
peacebuilding!literature!has!to!deal!more!explicitly!with!the!shortcomings!and!blind!spots!
discussed! above.! We! recommend! four! main! future! research! avenues! for! the! field! of!!
environmental! peacebuilding! and! for! the! broader! Peace! and! Conflict! Studies! that! also!!
include!the! concept!of! ‘sustaining!peace’! and!which!take! note!of! interconnections!in! the!!
research!field:!
1.!!Include!complex!dynamic!human-nature!relations!
Perspectives!on!the!conceptions!of!peace!and!conflict!which!are!confined!only!to!human-
human!relations!need!to!be!expanded!to!include!dynamic!and!interrelated!complex!human-
nature! relations! and! interactions! (see! Scheffran! et! al.,! 2012).! In! this! context,! a! central!!
concern!is!the!need!to!combine!the!literature!on!‘sustaining!peace’,!which!almost!entirely!
ignores!environmental!dimensions,!with!the!growing!body!of!literature!on!environmental!
peacebuilding,!as!well!as!with!conceptions!of!sustainable!peace.!The!challenges!of!investi-
gating!the!world!of!humans!as!intrinsically!interlinked!and!bound!to!the!Earth!system!can!
no!longer!be!ignored!by!Peace!and!Conflict!scholars!and!practitioners.!Therefore,!broader!

J Hardt and J Scheffran Environmental Peacebuilding and Climate Change
15
transdisciplinary!research!will!be!necessary!(Kalinowski,!2012),!including!disciplines!such!
as!climate!science,!Earth!System!science,!the!emerging!Anthropocene!Studies!and!especially!
the!Environmental!Humanities!(see!Hardt,!2018).!Some!proposals!already!exist!to!bring!the!
separate!research!fields!of!peace,!conflict,!development!and!sustainability!studies!together.!
Traditional!definitions!of!conflict!and!violence!also!need!to!be!open!to!new!approaches,!such!
as! structural! violence! and! political! power! in! relation! to! the! environment.! These! are!!
important!avenues!for!future!research!(see!Nixon,!2011).!
2.!!Focus!on!peace!
Our!second!main!research!proposal!is!to!explore!environmental!peace!in!a!way!that!is!inde-
pendent!from!violence!and!conflict!(see!Dalby,!2018;!Swatuk,!2018).!As!Kalinowski!(2012:!
274-280)!states,!in!relation!to!environment!and!climate!change,!Peace!and!Conflict!Studies!
is!getting!lost!between!strategies!against!poverty,!and!for!human!security!and!development.!
Stimulating!research!on!the! conception!of!peace!would! furthermore!help! to!confront! the!
bias!and!basic!ontology!of!conflict!in!the!literature.!Therefore,!we!stress!the!necessity!to!put!
more!focus!on!positive!instead!of!negative!linkages!(Scheffran!and!Vogt,!1998:!10;!Scheffran,!
2011;!2016),!towards!the!question!of!defining!positive!conceptions!of!environmental!peace!
and!sustainable!peace.!!
3.!!Include!critical!approaches!to!challenge!universalism!!
A!specific!focus!on!critical!approaches,!as!opposed!to!problem-solving!approaches,!would!
help!to! grasp!certain! phenomena!that! are!currently!relatively!unexplored.!Most! of!these!
phenomena!have!been!outlined!in!the!section!above:!the!questioning!of!power!structures,!
discourse! settings,! and! accompanying! political! interests! and! biases.! Such! critical!!
approaches!would!also!enable!us!to!challenge!the!mainstream!universalism.!!
4.!!Initiate!a!new!integrative!research!wave!
Addressing!the!above!points! would!broaden!the!study!field!-!opening!the! debates!on!the!
linkages!between!the!different!scientific!fields!and!communities!and!with!regard!to!human-
nature!relations.!The!emerging!field!of!Anthropocene!Studies,!and!critical!re-thinking!and!
scrutinizing!of!basic!assumptions!about!and!perceptions!of!the!world!and!of!humankind!in!
and!as!part!of!the!Earth,!provide!valuable!contributions!that!cannot!be!ignored!any!longer.!
We!therefore! recommend!that!the! energy!for! initiating!a!new! wave!of!research! which!is!
currently!emerging!should!explicitly!focus!on!bridging!the!isolated!bodies!of!literature.!We!
put!forward! a!plea!for! a!broader! transdisciplinary,!integrative! and!in-depth!approach! to!!
analyse!and!assess! the!issues!at! hand,!with!a! focus!on!interconnectedness! and!relations.!
This!could!lead!to!a!new!stage!of!Environmental!Peace!and!Conflict!Studies.!!
We! hope! that! through! this! overview! of! the! field,! and! by! unpacking! some! of! the! major!!
restraints!and!blind!spots!of!research!on!conflict,!peace,!environment!and!climate!change,!
we!have!been!able!to!trigger!a!first!step!on!this!path.!
! !

Policy Brief No. 68 Toda Peace Institute
16
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This!text!is!a!further!elaborated!and!extended!version!of!a!Spanish!text,!with!the!following!
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!
!
!

Policy Brief No. 68 Toda Peace Institute
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The!Authors!
Judith! Nora! Hardt!works!as! a!Postdoctoral!Researcher! with!the!Institute! for! Peace!Re-
search!and!Security!Policy!at!the!University!of!Hamburg!and!at!the!Centre!Marc!Bloch,!Berlin.!
Her!research!is!based!on!a!critical-normative!approach!and!aims!to!develop!the!conceptu-
alizations!of!security,!conflict,!human!well-being!and!justice!via!the!new!readings!of!human-
nature!relations.!The!forms!and! roles!of! agency,!expertise,! power!and!normative! founda-
tions!within!global!governance!are!further!constitutive!elements!of!her!research.!Currently!
she!focuses!on!the! emerging!climate! security!governance!complex.!In!this!context,!Judith!
works!in!close!cooperation!with!the!German!Foreign!Ministry!of!Affairs!with!the!aim!to!de-
velop!new!policy!approaches!and!recommendations!in!order!to!overcome!the!several!chal-
lenges!of!the!climate!security!field!with!the!joined!forces!of!the!triangulation!of!theory!and!
practice.!Recent!publications!include!(2018)!"Environmental!Security!in!the!Anthropocene:!
Assessing!theory!and!practice"!(Routledge).!She!is!active!in!the!ScientistsForFuture.!
Jürgen!Scheffran!is!professor!in!integrative!geography!at!the!University!of!Hamburg!and!
head!of!the!Research!Group!Climate!Change!and!Security!(CLISEC).!He!is!involved!as!Princi-
pal!Investigator!in!the!Cluster!of!Excellence!“Climate,!Climatic!Change!and!Society”!(CLICCS)!
and!in!the!Center!for!Earth!System!Research!and!Sustainability!(CEN).!Previously!he!held!
research!positions!at!University! of!Marburg,!Technical!University! of!Darmstadt,! Potsdam!
Institute!for!Climate!Impact!Research!and!University!of!Illinois.!He!has!been!contributing!to!
several!projects! and!organizations,!including! the!United!Nations,! the!Technology! Assess-
ment!Bureau!of!the!German!Parliament,!the!German!Committee!for!Sustainability!Research!
(DKN)!and!the!Fachkommission!Fluchtursachen!of!the!German!government.!Research!fields!
include:!climate!security,!environmental!conflict! and!human! migration;!land! use,!energy-
water-food!nexus!and!rural-urban!interaction;!sustainability!and!complexity!science;!tech-
nology!assessment!and!arms!control!of!missiles,!space!and!nuclear!weapons.!Recent!co-ed-
ited! books! include! “Agent-based! Modeling! of! Environmental! Conflict! and! Cooperation”!
(2019),!“Handbook!on!Sustainability!Transition!and!Sustainable!Peace”!(2016)!and!“Climate!
Change,!Human!Security!and!Violent!Conflict”!(2012).!
Toda!Peace!Institute!
The!Toda!Peace!Institute!is!an!independent,!nonpartisan!institute!committed!to!advancing!
a!more!just!and!peaceful!world!through!policy-oriented!peace!research!and!practice.!The!
Institute!commissions! evidence-based!research,! convenes!multi-track! and!multi-discipli-
nary!problem-solving!workshops!and!seminars,!and!promotes!dialogue!across!ethnic,!cul-
tural,!religious!and!political!divides.!It!catalyses!practical,!policy-oriented!conversations!be-
tween!theoretical!experts,!practitioners,!policymakers!and!civil!society!leaders!in!order!to!
discern!innovative!and!creative!solutions!to!the!major!problems!confronting!the!world!in!
the!twenty-first!century!(see!www.toda.org!for!more!information).!
Contact!Us!
Toda!Peace!Institute!
Samon!Eleven!Bldg.!5th!Floor!
3-1!Samon-cho,!Shinjuku-ku,!Tokyo!160-0017,!Japan!
Email:!contact@toda.org!