The Levant: Climate Change’s Effects on Domestic and Foreign Security Policy

Author

Mary McKenna Kump, Utah State University

Date of Award

5-2023

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Departmental Honors

Department

Political Science

Abstract

This project applies a comparative analysis of climate effects on security perspectives in the Levant (Israel, Palestine, Jordan, and Lebanon) with evidence from historical events and modern processes. In other words, how do the effects of climate change threaten states’ core national security interests? What areas of the system are likely to be impacted by climate effects? Researchers project that climate change will affect current and future global conditions, so how does it impact how states perceive the environment in relation to their national security interests? To examine these questions, I have developed a relatively informal cause-and-effect relationship between climate change and national security concerns. This connection displays the complex linkages of interdependence in the Middle East. I focus on three causal mechanisms: resource scarcity growth, population displacement, and identity/stability disruption. Within these three processes, I outline five crucial security factors: freshwater resources, food production systems, natural disasters, human migration, and violent conflict. Though the link between climate effects and security perspectives is relatively new in security studies, this field will become more salient as climate change impacts different regions of the world.

Recommended Citation

Kump, Mary McKenna, "The Levant: Climate Change’s Effects on Domestic and Foreign Security Policy" (2023). Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects. 969.
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/honors/969