Role Played by Climate Change in Political Upheavals, Term Paper Example

Introduction

Climate change can be defined as an alteration in the climate patterns of a region or the world. Before the industrial revolution, climate change was not a major concern since it primarily resulted from natural causes. This aspect has resulted in extreme climate changes across the globe, which results in other climate-unrelated consequences. Which is why this essay focuses on the role played by climate change in political upheavals, as one of the climate-unrelated consequences.

The countries in MENA region experienced extremely high temperatures, which, in turn, resulted in the devastation of agricultural land [1]. For instance, Syria experienced severe drought, which caused the death of more than eighty percent of their livestock and experienced extremely low crop production levels [2]. Due to this aspect, the inhabitants of Syria’s rural areas migrated to the larger cities searching for employment [3]. Here, marginalized groups were formed in the surroundings of Daraa, Homs, and Hamah. These disenfranchised belts resulted in conflict outbreaks when president Bashir Al Assad deployed armed forces against them. Similarly, in Darfur, western Sudan, the agricultural produce greatly decreased due to the decline in rainfall and rise in temperature [4]. This contributed to a conflict between the agricultural and pastoral tribes overusing land in growing crops or grazing livestock[5].

Typically, economic resources like fertile grounds and waters have been held dear by many terrorist organizations across the MENA region [6]. This aspect can be seen in how the Islamic states, ISIS or IS, always put efforts to capture Iraqi’s Fallujah and Mosul dams [7]. In addition, there have been efforts to capture the regions of Rabiah, Sinjar, and Zumar with the aim of controlling the Euphrates and Tigris waters and the Syrian water sources, which usually facilitate the agricultural growth in the region [8]. Additionally, Boko Haram gang rose after desertification and drought in Chad propelled the Chadian farmers to migrate from their original homelands[9]. Typically, such gangs are usually responsible for political instabilities across various nations since they pose a threat to the lives of the citizens in the affected regions.

Research posits that a link between the Arab revolutions and climate change exists [10]. Arab Spring’s political protests in 2013 rose due to the government’s failure in meeting the basic needs of its citizens by not addressing the issues of power shortages, desertification, and droughts[11]. Israel had similar protests in 2013 where several organizations like the Green Zionist Alliance were formed in an attempt to mitigate the human factors that result in climate change [12]. Another group of its citizens in Egypt protested against the oil drilling plants and Damietta’s MOPCO fertilizer plant between 2011 and 2012 [13]. Basically, these environmental protests that arise from climate change play a significant role in disturbing the region’s political climate.

According to environmental research, the number of refugees and displaced persons in the MENA regions will go up due to climate change [14]. In addition, it is anticipated that the continuous increase in sea levels, more so in the Mediterranean, is likely to displace almost four million residents around the region. Cities across the coast like Algiers, Libya, Benghazi, Egypt, Alexandria will be amongst the most affected cities by this phenomenon [15]. Another report posited that the water resources in the Arabian region are witnessing extreme evaluation, more so in the Sea of Galilee, Jordan rivers, Euphrates, and Tigris. A similar phenomenon is anticipated to happen in North Africa in Libya, Jordan, and Egypt [16]. Similarly, most of the lands across the MENA region are susceptible to many climate-related risks. Among other climate-related threats, these threats implicitly or explicitly affect internal stability, conventional security, and human, social, and environmental security, which are all essential elements to political stability across nations.

Conclusion

ntroduction In conclusion, even though climate change is an environmental phenomenon, it extends beyond its domain as it negatively impacts the political stability of the affected nations and regions. That is because it results in the decline of human security, escalates environmental protests, enhances the expansion of terrorist organizations, and results in the outbreak of civil conflicts, which have greatly impacted the nations in the MENA region. These aspects point out the need to formulate strategies at curbing the climate change issue to avoid further aggravation of this situation.

Bibliography

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[1] Lelieveld, Jos, Yiannis Proestos, Panos Hadjinicolaou, Meryem Tanarhte, Evangelos Tyrlis, and George Zittis. “Strongly increasing heat extremes in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) in the 21st century.” P. 248

[2] Peter H. Gleick. “Water, drought, climate change, and conflict in Syria.” p. 331

[2] Evans, Jason P. “21st century climate change in the Middle East.” P.418

[2] Siddig, Khalid, Davit Stepanyan, Manfred Wiebelt, Harald Grethe, and Tingju Zhu. “Climate change and agriculture in the Sudan: Impact pathways beyond changes in mean rainfall and temperature.” P. 4

[5] Harry Verhoeven. “Climate change, conflict and development in Sudan.” P. 680

[6] Telford, Andrew. “A climate terrorism assemblage? Exploring the politics of climate change-terrorism-radicalisation relations.” P. 5

[7] Pearce, Fred. “Mideast water wars: In Iraq, a battle for control of water.” P. 25

[8] Tobias von Lossow. “Water as weapon: IS on the Euphrates and Tigris.” P. 2

[9]  Aaron Sayne. Climate change adaptation and conflict in Nigeria.” P. 7

[10] De Châtel, Francesca. “The role of drought and climate change in the Syrian uprising: Untangling the triggers of the revolution.” P. 290

[11] . Gadi Wolfsfeld, Elad Segev, and Tamir Sheafer. “Social media and the Arab Spring: Politics comes first.” P. 120

[12] Weinthal, Erika, Neda Zawahri, and Jeannie Sowers. “Securitizing water, climate, and migration in Israel, Jordan, and Syria.” P. 295

[13] Jeannie Sowers. Environmental politics in Egypt: activists, experts, and the state. P. 3

[14] Emrah Sofuo?lu, and Ahmet Ay. “The relationship between climate change and political instability.” P. 8

[15] Cristina Linares, Julio Díaz, Maya Negev, Gerardo Sánchez Martínez, Roberto Debono, and Shlomit Paz. “Impacts of climate change on the public health of the Mediterranean Basin population-current situation, projections, preparedness and adaptation.” P. 182

[16] World Bank Publications. Turn down the heat: confronting the new climate normal. P. 18