Climate Change and Conflict

Catalog description

In this course we will learn about how climate change creates conflict around the globe. We will focus on conflict within civil wars and other forms of intrastate violence. Climate change is the single most important long-term threat to the peace and stability of the planet. The conflicts of the sort we look at in this class may be the most important short-term threat. Are they linked? If so, how? By the end of this class, you will be prepared to answer these questions. We will begin by looking the idea of climate change itself, to make sure we understand what exactly that concept means. Next, we will overview conflict and its causes. After that, we will analyze the debates in the academic literature about climate conflict linkages.