ABSTRACT
Much of the early discourse around environmental security attempted to elevate ecological issues to salience by focusing on their potential as the fundamental source of conflict between countries. Cases that might otherwise have been considered by policymakers as rooted in issues of territorial contentions, based on ethnic tensions or interests of economic or political hegemony over a region, were instead presented as the result of resource scarcity.1 While this had a short-term impact of bringing environmental issues to prominence in conservative defence circles, the long-term policy impact was relatively limited. A focused analysis of each case quickly found enough intervening variables that any causal connection to resource scarcity was widely contested. Two parallel schools of thought developed and became increasingly polarized in their perception about the environment-conflict linkage.2 While more liberal politicians continued to champion the importance of the environment as a security imperative, many political realists began to dismiss the connection. In some ways this debate mirrored the polarization between conservative and liberal elements within the conventional political spectrum.
