Environmental Conflict and Cooperation: Premise, Purpose, Persuasion, and Promise

Environmental Conflict and Cooperation:

Premise, Purpose, Persuasion, and Promise

James R. Lee

This book explores the evolution of environmental conflict as a field of research and the study of cooperation as an alternative to war. It navigates the the growing field and paints a framework for better understanding issues around environmental conflict and security. There are four key parts:

The premise of the field and its historic manifestations
The definition and purpose of research
The persuasions or types of environmental conflict and cooperation
The promise of research in meeting these challenges.

The book uses 26 case studies to illustrate and explore differing aspects of the field. The cases range from ancient examples, including conflict over the Cedars of Lebanon and the role of tin in the Peloponnesian Wars, to future-oriented scenarios that highlight expanded island-building in the South China Sea and the global security implications of geo-engineering. These new frontiers will challenge concepts, metrics, and policy contexts of environmental conflict and cooperation. The book makes use of a variety of methods and approaches to illustrate how research can better inform policy.