Revisiting the Environmental Security Concept: Climate Change as a Security Issue

Year 2021, Volume: 3 Issue: 2, 48 - 81, 01.05.2021

Emirhan Altunkaya

Abstract

Despite being an oft-used concept within the security studies sub-discipline, environmental security stands as a controversial term because of diverging interpretations on its meaning. This study aims to devote a theoretical investigation of the environmental security concept and to provide a descriptive analysis of its various meanings by reconsidering debates within the security studies research agenda since the 1980s. The research objective of the study is to understand why the environmental security concept has such diverging interpretations and to interrogate the relevance of this divergence for the framing of climate change as a security issue. In this regard, first, it focuses on debates on the redefinition of the security concept through the 1980s within the discipline and reviews its implications for the emergence of the environmental security concept. Then it examines controversies over the meaning of the concept by providing a comparative analysis of the various interpretations of the relationship between environment and security. In conclusion, it discusses the significance of this theoretical investigation for the framing of climate change as a security issue on the international political agenda.

Keywords

Enviromental Security, Security Studies, Human Security, Ecological Security, Climate Change

Revisiting the Environmental Security Concept: Climate Change as a Security Issue

Abstract

Çevresel güvenlik kavramı, güvenlik etütleri alt-disiplini içerisinde sıklıkla kullanılmasina rağmen, anlamı üzerine birbirinden oldukca farkli yorumlamalar sebebiyle halen tartışmalı bir kavramdır. Bu çalışma çevresel güvenlik kavramı üzerine teorik bir inceleme yapmayı ve güvenlik etütleri içerisinde 1980’li yıllardan bu yana süregelen tartışmaları da dikkate alarak kavramın farklı anlamlarina iliskin betimsel bir analiz sunmayı hedeflemektedir. Arastirmanin amaci, cevresel guvenlik kavramina iliskin farklilasan yorumlamalarin neden ve nasil gelistigini anlamak, ve bu farkliliklarin iklim degisikliginin bir guvenlik sorunu olarak ele alinmasina etklerini sorgulamaktir. Bu bakimdan, calisma ilk olarak, disiplin icerisinde 1980’li yillarda yasanan guvenlik konseptinin yeniden tanimlanmasina iliskin tartismalara odaklanmakta ve bu tartismalarin cevresel guvenlik kavraminin olusmasindaki etkilerini gozden gecirmektedir. Sonrasinda, cevre-guvenlik iliskisi uzerine farklilasan yorumlamalarin karsilastirmali bir analizini sunarak, kavramin anlami uzerine suregelen muglakligi incelemektedir. Sonuc bolumunde ise, bu teorik sorgulamanin, iklim degisikliginin uluslararasi politik ajandada bir guvenlik sorunu olarak ele alinmasi acisindan onemini tartismaktadir.

Keywords

Çevresel Güvenlik, Güvenlik Etütleri, İnsani Güvenlik, Ekolojik Güvenlik, İklim Değişikliği

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