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Towards Critical Environmental Security

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Natural Resources and Social Conflict

Part of the book series: International Political Economy Series ((IPES))

Abstract

The year 2012 marks the twentieth anniversary of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (commonly called the Earth Summit) held at Rio de Janeiro, and the tenth anniversary since Rio’s follow-up meeting at Johannesburg, the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD). Much of our thinking about ‘the environment’ has been transformed since Rio, but much too has remained unchanged. As ‘the world’ gears up for Rio +20, this introductory essay begins with a brief reflection on what has changed and what has stayed the same within the intersections of environment and security over the past 20 years. Our focus then shifts to the directions we would like to see both the analysis and practice of ‘environmental security’ move in the immediate term — that is, a move towards critical environmental security.

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Authors
  1. Matthew A. Schnurr
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  2. Larry A. Swatuk
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of International Development, Dalhousie University, Canada

    Matthew A. Schnurr (Assistant Professor) (Assistant Professor)

  2. School of Environment, Enterprise and Development (SEED), University of Waterloo, Canada

    Larry A. Swatuk (Associate Professor and Director, International Development Programme) (Associate Professor and Director, International Development Programme)

Copyright information

© 2012 Matthew A. Schnurr and Larry A. Swatuk

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Schnurr, M.A., Swatuk, L.A. (2012). Towards Critical Environmental Security. In: Schnurr, M.A., Swatuk, L.A. (eds) Natural Resources and Social Conflict. International Political Economy Series. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137002464_1

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