Reframing Climate-Induced Socio-Environmental Conflicts: A Systematic Review

Abstract

This article draws a comprehensive map of conflict climate change scholarship. It uses visualizations and descriptive statistics to trace the temporal, spatial, and topical evolution of the field of study via a bibliometric analysis of more than six hundred publications. It then proceeds to summarize findings, theoretical explanations, and methodological approaches. Overall, this systematic review shows a remarkable inconsistency of evidence among publications. As a way forward, this article recommends future research to use computational models, informed by a social-ecological perspective, to better explore the link between climate change and conflict. Resumen En este artículo se traza un mapa integral de la erudición conflictiva del cambio climático. Se utilizan visualizaciones y estadísticas descriptivas para rastrear la evolución temporal, espacial y temática del campo de estudio mediante un análisis bibliométrico de más de seiscientas publicaciones. Luego, continúa con un resumen de los hallazgos, las explicaciones teóricas y los enfoques metodológicos. En términos generales, esta revisión sistemática muestra una notable incoherencia de evidencias entre las publicaciones. En este artículo se recomiendan investigaciones a futuro para utilizar los modelos computacionales, informados con una perspectiva socioecológica, a fin de explorar mejor la conexión entre el cambio climático y los conflictos. Extrait Cet article offre une représentation complète des recherches portant sur les conflits liés au changement climatique. Il utilise des visualisations et des statistiques descriptives pour retracer l’évolution temporelle, spatiale et thématique de ce domaine d’étude via une analyse bibliométrique de plus de six cents publications. Il résume ensuite les constatations, explications théoriques et approches méthodologiques. Globalement, cette synthèse systématique montre une incohérence remarquable des preuves entre les publications. Pour aller de l'avant, cet article recommande que les recherches futures passent par des modèles informatiques éclairés par une perspective socio-écologique pour mieux explorer le lien entre le changement climatique et les conflits.

From climate conflicts to environmental peacebuilding: Exploring local dimensions

“…But only since the mid-2010s, interest in the nexus of climate change, environmental stress, peace, and conflicts has grown rapidly (McDonald, 2021;Vogler, 2023a). Today, a vast literature discusses whether, how, and in what contexts climate change affects the onset, duration, and intensity of intrastate armed conflict (Ide, 2023b;Koubi, 2019;Scartozzi, 2021). The research field was long divided between those claiming a strong link and those skeptical of a causal relationship between climate change and violent conflict.…”

Sampling bias in environmental peacebuilding research

“…While a clear gender gap in the research area exists, it is less pronounced than in related fields. Recent reviews of the climate-conflict and climate-migration literatures, for instance, yield GBAT scores of 18.41 (Scartozzi, 2021) and31.03 (S ˇedova´et al, 2021). 12 When related to the overall group of researchers and practitioners in the field, the representation gap is even smaller.…”

Security Risks of Environmental Crises: Environment of Peace (Part 2)

“…Climate change and environmental degradation pose security risks that extend beyond violent conflict, which has largely been the focus of the climate security literature thus far. 46 While concerns about armed conflict undoubtedly remain a priority, there are other risks to peace and security arising from environmental crises. This broader perspective is a major theme of the emergent practice of ecological 47 and environmental security, 48 as well as the broader field of environmental peacebuilding.…”