Natural Resource security, peace and conflict

Over the past decades, due to the increase of challenges in coping with environmental problems such as climate change, environmental issues have been an important topic in the international agenda. This thesis approaches environmental issues in a security context, particularly the effects that environmental insecurity have on the populations well being. This thesis analyses the differences between more traditionalists’ approaches and more contemporaneous approaches on security studies. The analysis of environmental security was based on a theoretical framework consisting of theories driving mainly from the Copenhagen and the Welsh Schools of Security Studies. This thesis concludes that there are five main areas that directly influence environmental security such as energy demand; climate change; institutionalization of the environment; insecurity and conflicts and also the perception populations have on environmental security. It also concludes that in order to mitigate climate change effects and assure environmental security, it is necessary to expand the already existing global governance network and direct it towards a greener future, it is also necessary for this network to include the participation of States and civil society as well as cooperation vehicles between the different international relation actors.

This paper argues that it is simplistic to attribute the recent civil war in South Sudan to the presence and exploration of crude oil in that country. It links the civil war in South Sudan to systematic marginalization of the African populations of the Greater Sudan that was initiated by the Southern Policy of the British colonial government in the 1920s; and the inability of the new government of South Sudan to address grievances among the citizens. The uncoordinated abrogation of the Southern Policy, failure of the colonial and post-colonial governments of Greater Sudan to prioritise development of the south, and the unwillingness of successive governments to unconditionally integrate the south into Sudan polity led to initiation of secession agenda that was eventually realized through a referendum in 2011. This north-south tension overshadowed pertinent grievances among southerners that were never addressed by the new government of South Sudan, feeding on political disagreements two years after independence. Using geographical proximity and resource lootability theories, the paper shows that the resource-curse theories only explain part of the problem.

Fossil fuels are the dominant form of storable energy, but their share in the global energy supply is slowly diminishing due to climate mitigation policies. Alternative energy production from variable renewable energy sources for both stationary and mobile use requires some form of energy storage. Batteries are the current frontrunner for this application, particularly with Li-ion batteries that are reliable and highly efficient. However, batteries themselves have evolved to meet current requirements and expectations. These changes in battery chemistry have shifted the dependency on raw materials used to produce them. Raw materials critical for battery production are subject to supply risk due to their availability or trade policies prompting a need for supply risk assessment. Such resource supply risks depend on the perspective of the importing country or region. By analysing the supply risk of raw materials used in the production of batteries in comparison to fossil fuels, it is possible to understand the shift in risk to storable energy that is underway. In this study, we analyse the supply risk of selected raw materials used in batteries and compare it with the supply risk of fossil fuels for the period 2000 to 2018 from the perspective of the European Union, USA, South Korea, Japan, Canada and Australia using the GeoPolRisk method. Our analysis demonstrates a higher risk of supply for raw materials compared to that of fossil fuels for all the selected territories. Rare earth elements, graphite and magnesium, are amongst the raw materials with the highest supply risk due to their concentrated production in one or only a few countries. Countries have recognised the need for raw material security and made specific policies to ensure secure supply. Raw material security is an emerging concern for all the countries, especially in the case of batteries for major manufacturing nations that are heavily import-dependent. Raw materials producing countries like Canada and Australia focused on stockpiling minerals and minerals exploration while importing countries such as Japan and South Korea are looking for alternate sources for their supply. The results from our analysis suggest that the necessary policy reforms taken for energy security have benefited all the countries with a reduced risk of fossil fuel supply, while similar policies to secure raw materials are discussed but not yet fully implemented.

Kassab argues that the increase in geopolitical, economic, nationalist, and resource competition between three great powers, the United States, China, and Russia, points to the changing structure of the international system. This competition is a systemic one, focusing more on the rules and norms that defined the system since the end of the Cold War. This American-led unipolar order is translating into a multipolar one. Kassab begins by tracing the decline of the United States after the Iraq War (2003) and the Great Recession (2008) as well as the rise of China and the resurgence of Russia. He describes major foreign policy changes from George H.W. Bush to Donald J. Trump and how the various administrations approached the international system. This explains that while the United States pulls-back from the international system, China and Russia are seeking to increase their influence.

2009, Recommendation Johan Galtung for the publishing of the contents of the documents about the system theory of violence, presented first at the World Criminology Congress Conference Barcelona 2008, finally published as book in 2012 under the title PAX
"The recommendation is written for all WCC documents published until end of 2009, which is the 2010 standard.

This recommendation was issued after a meeting in Washington, in November 2009 and written simultaneously to the recommendation of Sherwood McGinnis. Procedure agreed upon at the meeting in Washington in November 2009, among Johan Galtung, Sherwood McGinnis and Andrés Ginestet.""