This course investigates the evolving relationship between climate change and international security, with an emphasis on operational frameworks, policy response, and grounded case study analysis. While anchored in contemporary global dynamics, the course integrates historical perspectives on how environmental stressors—from water scarcity to ecosystem collapse—have contributed to displacement, conflict, and state fragility.
Focusing on the intersection of environmental change, governance, and security, students will examine how climate-related threats are reshaping diplomacy, peacebuilding, and strategic planning. Through weekly themes, students will explore how institutions respond to complex climate risks, evaluate frameworks such as the “threat multiplier” narrative, and assess regional climate security architectures, including multilateral mechanisms like the UN Climate Security Mechanism and regional bodies like the African Union.
Assignments emphasize applied skills: students will write policy memos, participate in simulation exercises, and brief real-world cases such as the marshlands of Iraq, water conflict in the Sahel, and migration patterns in South Asia. The course is designed for students with interests in history, political science, security studies, and environmental change.
Focusing on the intersection of environmental change, governance, and security, students will examine how climate-related threats are reshaping diplomacy, peacebuilding, and strategic planning. Through weekly themes, students will explore how institutions respond to complex climate risks, evaluate frameworks such as the “threat multiplier” narrative, and assess regional climate security architectures, including multilateral mechanisms like the UN Climate Security Mechanism and regional bodies like the African Union.
Assignments emphasize applied skills: students will write policy memos, participate in simulation exercises, and brief real-world cases such as the marshlands of Iraq, water conflict in the Sahel, and migration patterns in South Asia. The course is designed for students with interests in history, political science, security studies, and environmental change.
- Teacher: Diego Osorio