ABSTRACT
This chapter seeks to highlight the Syrian civil unrest after the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings, putting into a larger context the magnitude of that crisis, which in the opinions of many experts was precipitated by the drought in preceding years (2006–10), especially in the region of Hasaka in northeastern Syria. Without the drought, they argue, the mass migration of farmers to the cities would not have occurred, and without the migration it is likely that the ensuing unrest would have been much less severe. More specifically, the author focuses exclusively on climate refugees, arguing that climatic stresses, when combined with rapid urbanization and population growth, could become a source of climate-induced displacement, with politically destabilizing and disruptive consequences. Policies aimed at improving the adaptive capacity of states to deal with climate change may mitigate the likelihood of civil unrest and forced migration in the future. The implications of the Syrian refugee crisis and forced displacement are many and varied, posing numerous challenges to the 1951 Refugee Convention. The need for adjustments to new realities of climate refugees and forced migration has never been more urgent.
