Competition over resources

In the environmentally constrained but more populous world that can be expected over the course of this century, there will be greater scarcity of three key resources: food, water and energy. Demand for all three resources is already beyond that which can be sustained at current levels. Once population growth and the effects of climate change are factored in, it is clear that greater competition for such resources should be expected, both within and between countries, potentially leading in extreme cases to conflict.

A world in need: The case for sustainable security

Paul Rogers | Open Democracy | September 2009

Issues:Climate change, Competition over resources, Global militarisation, Marginalisation

A hurricane of crises across the world - financial meltdown, economic recession, social inequality, military power, food insecurity, climate change - presents governments, citizens and thinkers with a defining challenge: to rethink what "security" means in order to steer the world to a sustainable course.  The gap between perilous reality and this urgent aspiration remains formidable.

SustainableSecurity.org Associate Editor Paul Rogers, highlights the need for fresh, effective and transforming approaches to security. 

This article was originally posted on openDemocracy

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Oxford Research Group Director Dr. John Sloboda launches SustainablySecurity.org

Issues:Climate change, Competition over resources, Global militarisation, Marginalisation

The tragic events of September 11th 2001 propelled the western security agenda down a reactive, narrow, and self-defeating path defined by the ‘War on Terror.’ The eighth anniversary of 9/11 is marked by a groundswell of voices from policymakers and analysts acknowledging that the greatest threats to global security require moving beyond a limited focus on terrorism. This groundswell is partly a response to the multiple failings of the current approach, but has been given new energy by the global financial crisis and the increased prominence of issues such as climate change.

However, the specific policy recommendations arising from these new assessments still tend to be framed predominantly in terms of national self interest and preservation of the status-quo, rather than in terms of a more fundamental transformation of global relations in the direction of collective human security. Yet such a transformation is viewed by many as the only sure means of securing lasting security for the people of any individual nation. An emerging approach, which focuses on addressing the root causes of conflict, systemically, and collaboratively, to achieve long term change, has come to be known as; ‘sustainable security’. SustainableSecurity.org is a new platform for developing this approach, coming to understand its implications for policy, and promoting these implications to those who can act on them.

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Scarcity, security and institutional reform

Alex Evans | Global Dashboard | August 2009

Issue:Competition over resources

On 25th August Alex Evans presented a paper on scarcity issues - water, food, energy, land and climate security, to staff from the UN Department of Political Affairs as part of a three day session on security threats organised by the Geneva Centre for Security Policy. 

Alex's paper highlights the interconnected nature of scarcity issues and the need for the multilateral system to mitigate scarcity trends collectively. Read more »

Peak Oil likley to occur within the next decade

Issue:Competition over resources

In an interview with the Independent newspaper, Dr Fatih Birol, the Chief Economist at the International Energy Agency (IEA) in Paris, has warned that most governments and members of the public underestimate the rate at which the world's oil supplies are running out. Dr Birol suggested that global production is likely to peak in around ten years - a decade earlier than most governments predict. Read more »

Beyond dependence and Legacy: Sustainable Security in Sub-Saharan Africa

Chris Abbott and Thomas Phipps | Oxford Research Group | June 2009

Issues:Competition over resources, Marginalisation

Tag:report

Sub-Saharan Africa is too readily dismissed from the outside, but the regional perception is often one of optimism. It is an area rich in natural resources: ranging from oil and natural gas to other minerals such as chrome, nickel and zinc. Nearly half the population are under the age of 14, making the region free from the demographic burden of an ageing workforce prevalent in other parts of the world. Read more »

From Within and Without: Sustainable Security in the Middle East and North Africa

Chris Abbott and Sophie Marsden | Oxford Research Group | March 2009

Issues:Climate change, Competition over resources, Global militarisation, Marginalisation

Tag:report

The Middle East and North Africa is a region of great diversity. It encompasses Arab and many other ethnic populations, theocratic and secular states, democracies and authoritarian regimes. A region of immense wealth and crippling poverty; it is blessed (some might say cursed) with vast resources, not least oil, but has not always proved able to manage them for the benefit of ordinary people. Read more »