Environmental Security

3 Credits · Level: Undergraduate

Global climate change and biodiversity loss are among the most pressing challenges of the 21st century. These crises are unfolding alongside rapid globalization, technological change, shifting demographics, and evolving systems of global governance. Together, they are reshaping how scholars and policymakers understand security and elevating the role of environmental factors in global affairs. This course examines the concept of environmental security, a term whose meaning and scope remain widely debated. Through multidisciplinary readings, seminar discussions, and applied research, students will explore how environmental security intersects with other forms of security, including human security and the water-energy-food nexus. The course begins by situating environmental security within international relations theory, then examines key drivers of insecurity such as climate-induced migration, environmental degradation, resource-based conflict, and environmental crime and justice. The course concludes by assessing how environmental security is shaping U.S. policy today and its implications for future generations.