Ecoviolence: Links Among Environment, Population, and Security

Ecoviolence explores links between environmental scarcities of key renewal resources - such as cropland, fresh water and forests - and violent rebellions, insurgencies and ethnic clashes in developing countries. Detailed contemporary studies of civil violence in Chiapas, Gaza, South Africa, Pakistan and Rwanda show how environmental scarcity has played a limited to significant role in causing social instability in each of these contexts. Drawing upon theory and key findings from the case studies, the authors suggest that environmental sarcity will worsen in many poor countries in coming decades and will become an increasingly important cause of major civil violence.