Book contents
- The Environment in Conflict
- The Environment in Conflict
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Foreword
- Acknowledgments
- Prologue
- 1 The Environs of Conflict
- 2 The Environment as Trigger
- 3 The Environment as Degraded
- 4 The Environment as Neglected
- 5 The Environment as Control
- 6 The Environment as a Vector of Violence
- 7 Environmental Peacebuilding
- 8 Pathways and Implications for Moving Forward
- References
- Index
2 - The Environment as Trigger
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 22 April 2026
Book contents
- The Environment in Conflict
- The Environment in Conflict
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Foreword
- Acknowledgments
- Prologue
- 1 The Environs of Conflict
- 2 The Environment as Trigger
- 3 The Environment as Degraded
- 4 The Environment as Neglected
- 5 The Environment as Control
- 6 The Environment as a Vector of Violence
- 7 Environmental Peacebuilding
- 8 Pathways and Implications for Moving Forward
- References
- Index
Summary
Growing environmental instability around the globe has the potential to contribute to the onset of violent conflict. However, there is rarely a clear, direct causal pathway between environmental change and conflict because these interactions are always mediated by institutions – social norms, governance, and policy. How the environment can be a potential trigger for conflict is a critical part of the environment-conflict nexus. This chapter explores the broad literature on the topic, drawing out where there is more and less consensus and what the implications are for understanding the environment in conflict.
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- The Environment in ConflictImplications and Pathways, pp. 26 - 54Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2026
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