A Critical Look At The Securitization of Climate Change in the Context of the Syrian Civil War

Year 2020, Volume: 18 Issue: 4, 155 - 170, 28.12.2020

Ahmet Conker

https://doi.org/10.18026/cbayarsos.593419

Abstract

There have been numbers of academic studies that connect the Syrian civil war with climate change. According to this view, the Syrian civil war is yet another example of how climate change may trigger and exacerbate armed conflicts. This approach's main argument is that the long-standing drought in Syria is a consequence of the climate change that led to mass domestic migration and triggered the uprising. The study aims to analyse how the securitising elites portrayed climate change as a threat by exemplifying the Syrian civil war and by showing why such securitisation is problematic. This paper argues that the securitisation of climate change is problematic, owing to the following reasons. First, the causality between climate change and its role in the erupt of the Syrian uprising is still debated. Second, it overshadows the incompetence and the responsibility of the Baath Regime. Third, the weak spots between climate change and the civil war give climate change deniers to make counter-arguments.

Keywords

Climate Change, Securitization

İklim Değişikliğinin Güvenlikleştirilmesine Suriye İç Savaşı Bağlamında Eleştirel Bir Bakış

Abstract

Suriye iç savaşı ile iklim değişikliğini ilişkilendiren birçok akademik çalışma bulunmaktadır. Bu bakış açısına göre Suriye iç savaşı, iklim değişikliğinin bir silahlı çatışmanın patlak vermesini tetikleme ya da tırmandırma potansiyeline sahip olduğuna en çarpıcı örnektir. Bu bakış açısının temel argümanı Suriye’de yaşanan iklim değişikliği kaynaklı uzun kuraklık döneminin önce iç göçe neden olduğu ve bu göçün de rejime karşı protestoları tetiklediği şeklinde özetlenebilir. Bu çalışmanın temel amacı Suriye iç savaşı örneği üzerinden iklim değişikliğinin güvenlikleştirici elitler tarafından nasıl güvenlikleştirildiğini ortaya koymak ve bu güvenlikleştirme çabalarının sorunlu yanlarını analiz etmektir. Çalışma şu nedenlerden ötürü iklim değişikliğinin güvenlikleştirilmesini eleştirmektedir. İlk olarak iklim değişikliğinin iç savaştaki rolünün tam olarak ne olduğu konusu literatürde halen tartışmalıdır. İkincisi bu güvenlikleştirme Baas rejiminin yetersizliklerini ve sorumluluklarını gölgelemektedir. Üçüncüsü iklim değişim ile iç savaş arasındaki zayıf noktalar iklim değişikliğini inkarcılarınca karşı argüman olarak kullanılmaktadır.

Keywords

İklim Değişikliği, Güvenlikleştirme, İç Savaş

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