Is Environment a Source of International Conflicts - Coursework Example

IS ENVIRONMENT A SOURCE OF INTERNATIONAL CONFLICTS? By goes here] [Your goes here] [Due the paper] Is Environment A Source Of International Conflicts? 1. Introduction International conflicts refer to the conflicts that occur between different countries on different issues. Environment has also been a major source of conflicts between two or more countries. According to Gleditsch (1997, p. 3), environmental security needs to be a vital part of national, as well as global security concepts. When we talk about environment as a source of international conflict, we are actually pointing towards different types of environments, such as, military, economic, and political environments that cause disputes and conflicts between countries. History reveals many environmental factors that have given rise to a number of international conflicts. Some of those factors were based on political and geographical environments, whereas some factors were based on the lack of natural resources which are the essentials of life. In this paper, we will highlight some of the main environmental factors that can cause conflicts between states. We will use historic examples to validate the content. 2. How Environment Causes International Conflicts “History shows many instances in which scarce resources and environmental degradation played a role in generating conflict and leading even to collapses of societies and civilizations” (Ehrlich, Gleick & Conca 2000). The history of environment-based international conflicts dates back to the start of civilization when countries having strong military power used to conquer relatively weak areas of the world to build their empires. As Austin and Bruch (2000, p. 1) state, “For centuries, military commanders have deliberately targeted the environment, seeking to obtain any possible advantage over their adversaries”. Some of the famous examples of invasion from the earliest history include Persian invasion of Greece, Macedonian invasions, Mongol invasions, and Timurid invasion. At that time, the main source of power was a strong army that countries used to use to defeat weak enemies. A strong military environment was considered a symbol of power. However, with the passage of time, the world developed much faster than earlier and every country started developing a strong army to protect its boundaries. Such approach by countries raised geographical environment based conflicts between countries. The issues of land ownership raised because of forceful conquer of weak states which gave rise to complex international disputes, such as, Palestine-Israel conflict, Pakistan-India conflict based on Kashmir territory, and Iraq-Kuwait conflict. Similarly, financial and terrorism oriented environments also give rise to international conflicts. Security of the world has become a major issue due to increase in international conflicts (Collins 2009). Here, the point of discussion is that conflicts between countries arise due to different types of environments, such as, difference between military strengths, geographical conflicts, and lack of natural resources. Let us now discuss in detail how different types of environments cause conflicts between two or more countries. 2.1 Financial Environment Financial conditions of countries also lead to international conflicts. We can take example of Iraq-Kuwait war in which financial condition of Iraq after its war with Iran was one of the major factors that gave rise to war between Iraq and Kuwait. Financial position of Iraq had gone down due to war and it had to repay a huge amount of money that it borrowed from Kuwait to continue the war. One more thing that made the environment more intense was Kuwait’s over-production of oil. Kuwait was exceeding OPEC’s limit of oil production for many years. Iraq knew that it could only pay back the loan to Kuwait if oil prices go high and Iraq becomes able to generate a high amount of revenue through oil. This could happen only if Kuwait would have stopped the over-production of oil from its reservoirs. This would have caused oil prices go high which would have benefited Iraq in terms of generation of high amounts of revenue through oil production. However, Kuwait did not seem to be adopting such an approach that made the environment tense and Iraq was left with no other choice than to invade Kuwait and force it to do so. Therefore, Iraq did the same and the United States of America had to intervene to stop the war and give occupied territory back to Kuwait. The point in this example is that financial environment of a country gave rise to an international conflict which ended with the intervention of super powers. 2.2 Geographical Environment Geographical environment, in the context of international conflicts, refers to the occupation of land by different countries. Such invasions using force give rise to international disputes. In such cases, a country having strong military power forcefully conquers the parts of those neighboring countries which have less military strength. In such cases, weak countries seek help of international authorities and other strong counties to help them in recovering their lands. Two of the most famous examples of such invasions are invasion of Iran by Iraqi forces and invasion of Poland and Germany by Soviet Union’s Red army. The second example of German invasion came to an end with the end to the World War II but in case of Kuwaiti invasion, the United States led forces had to intervene to settle the dispute between Iraq and Iran. Another example of geographical environment based international conflicts is Pakistan-India wars of 1948 and 1965. The main reason behind both wars was Kashmir territory which remained disputed even after division of the subcontinent in 1947. The point in these examples is that geographical environment also gives rise to international conflicts. Occupation of the territory of one country causes conflict which also leads to wars at times. 2.3 Environment of Terror Environment of terror also gives rise to international conflicts. We can take example of terrorist attacks of world trace centre of America in which thousands of people were killed and injured. Al-Qaeda, a group of terrorists, launched attacks on the twin towers on11th of September 2001 (Williams 2012, p. 223). There was no reason behind those attacks other than to destabilize America and cause terror in the minds of citizens. Investigations proved the involvement of Al-Qaeda in those attacks. American government asked Afghanistan to handover the terrorists to America and launch operation against the group. Upon no proper direction of operation from Afghanistan, America was left with no other option to deal with the group on its own. Therefore, America launched a war against the home country of the terrorist group to limit the activities of terrorists and make the rest of the world free of terror. Moreover, United Nations also asked NATO forces to launch war against Iraq upon getting proofs of Iraq’s involvement in the preparation of dreadful chemical weapons which would have been a great source of threat for the whole world. Through this example, we can conclude that terrorism in any part of the world causes conflicts between countries. The environment of terror created due to the activities of terrorists makes many countries go towards war and conflicts. The examples of Afghanistan and Iraq wars prove this concept as both wars were launched to limit the signs of aggression and terror being created by both countries. 2.4 Improper Distribution of Natural Resources As Bannon and Collier (2003, p. ix) state, “Revenues from the legal or illegal exploitation of natural resources have financed devastating conflicts in a large number of countries”. Natural resources, such as, minerals, water, and oil have been essentials of life since the start of the world and will remain important fro survival forever. “In todays world, human pressures on natural resources are increasing, while many resource bases are deteriorating or being depleted, creating an increased potential for competition and conflict between nations or groups within societies” (Ehrlich, Gleick & Conca 2000). The population of the whole world is increasing so rapidly that it is becoming very difficult for any country to rely solely on its own resources. Therefore, they have to rely on the resources present in other countries to run the economic and life cycle. Sometimes, conflicts between two or more countries arise on the issue of distribution of resources. As Robinson (2008, p. 177) states, “A resource conflict is a war fought to gain or maintain control of scarce natural resources”. Such conflicts also lead to wars at times. For example, one of the major reasons behind Gulf war access to oil resources. “Oil was the ostensible cause of the Iraqi-Kuwaiti conflict” (Ehrlich, Gleick & Conca 2000). Another example of natural resources based conflicts is the conflict between India and Pakistan, the two neighboring countries. Most of the river water in Pakistan comes from India. India and Pakistan have signed on water treaty agreement to agree upon the distribution of water in a fair manner. However, water distribution has remained a big problem for Pakistan since its date of independence. At times, India stops the flow of water to Pakistan which harms the industrial and economic progress of Pakistan. This issue has always kept tensions between the two countries high. Scarcity of natural resources causes conflicts (Homer-Dixon 1999, p. 138). This example shows that improper distribution of natural resources also gives rise to conflicts and tensions between many countries. Moreover, improper distribution of resources was also one of the main factors that caused World War II. 3. Conclusion Summing it up, environment has also been a major source of conflicts between two or more countries. History reveals many environmental factors that have given rise to a number of international conflicts. A number of examples are there in the history which reveal the relationship between environmental factors and international disputes and conflicts. Some of the main environmental factors that have caused international conflicts in past include geographical factor, political factor, financial factor, terrorism factor, and improper distribution of natural resources. References Austin, J & Bruch C 2000, The Environmental Consequences of War: Legal, Economic, and Scientific Perspectives, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Bannon, I & Collier, P 2003, Natural Resources and Violent Conflicts: Options and Actions, The World Bank, Washington DC. Collins, A 2009, Contemporary Security Studies, 2nd edn, Oxford University Press, Oxford. Ehrlich, A, Gleick, P & Conca, K 2000, Resources and environmental degradation as sources of conflict, viewed 20 October 2012, . Gleditsch, N 1997, Conflict and the Environment, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht. Homer-Dixon, T 1999, Environment, Scarcity, and Violence, Princeton University Press, New Jersey. Robinson, P 2008, Dictionary of International Security, Polity Press, Cambridge. Williams, P 2012, Security Studies: An Introduction, 2nd edn, Routledge, Oxon. Read More