Introduction. Environnement, climat, défense et sécurité : un agenda en transformation

International audienceDans cette introduction, nous proposons une mise en perspective des thèmes abordés dans les articles du dossier "Environnement et défense" avec la littérature, mais aussi avec les grandes questions de sciences sociales sous-jacentes à l’exploration du nexus environnement/climat-défense/sécurité

The challenges of the increasing institutionalization of climate security

A rapid and widespread institutionalization of climate security is underway, led by powerful states and international organizations. Recognition of the climate crisis by security actors as a serious threat to humanity is long overdue, but it is imperative that this institutionalization is critically scrutinized. This commentary highlights specific dangers that accompany the institutional mainstreaming of climate security, including a non-reflexive integration into traditional security paradigms, a growing geopolitical separation between discourses emerging from the Global South and North, and policymaking that tends to draw from a narrow view of the science. Science-based and actionable research informed by pluralistic understandings of climate security is needed to counter this trend

From justification to anticipation : the construction of an environmental and climatic responsibility for defense actors in France and in the United States

À partir des cas de la France et des États-Unis, cette thèse montre que l’incorporation des enjeux écologiques dans les politiques de défense dépend des manières de définir la responsabilité environnementale et climatique et de l’attribuer aux forces armées. Le premier type de responsabilité, issu de la tradition de la guerre juste et du droit de la guerre, est défini comme l’obligation de limiter les destructions et les pollutions. Elle est attribuée par des victimes, des scientifiques et des juristes qui demandent des comptes aux organisations de défense pour les dommages écologiques causés en temps de guerre et de paix. Cette responsabilité n’est inscrite que tardivement et de manière limitée dans les doctrines militaires. Le deuxième type de responsabilité, issu d’une synthèse entre la norme stratégique de précision et le développement durable, est défini comme l’obligation d’économiser l’emploi de la force. Elle est issue d’une démarche de responsabilisation des organisations de défense, qui prend la forme d’un investissement dans des technologies et des équipements plus performants et alimentés par des énergies renouvelables. Cette exigence peine à dépasser le cadre de l’expérimentation. Le troisième type de responsabilité, issu de la synthèse entre l’adaptation climatique et l’anticipation stratégique, est la responsabilité d’anticiper et de prévenir les risques climatiques. Elle est issue de la réflexion prospective et géostratégique sur les implications du changement climatique pour la sécurité nationale. Elle représente le type de responsabilité le mieux intégré dans les politiques de défense, et en particulier dans les doctrines stratégiques qui accordent une place de plus en plus importante à l’emploi des forces armées dans le renforcement de la résilience climatique des sociétés.Based on the study of France and the United States, this doctoral dissertation shows that the incorporation of ecological challenges in defense policies depends on how environmental and climatic responsibilities are defined and assigned to the armed forces. The first type of responsibility comes from the just war tradition and the law of war and is defined as the duty to limit pollutions and destructions. Since the 1970s, is has been assigned by victims, scientists and jurists who hold defense organizations accountable for the ecological damages caused both in times of war and during peacetime. This responsibility is included quite late and in a limited way within the codes of conduct and the doctrine of logistics of both French and American armed forces. The second type of responsibility comes from a synthesis between the precision norm and sustainable development and is defined as the duty to economize the use of the armed forces. It comes from a responsibilization of defense organizations, which materializes in investments on more sustainable and greener technologies and military equipment. However, this requirement struggles to move away from mere experiments and incorporate all defense activities. The third type of responsibility comes from a synthesis between climate adaptation and strategic anticipation and is defined as a duty to anticipate and prevent climate risks. It originates from prospective and geostrategic studies on the national security implications of climate change. Consequently, it is the most integrated form of responsibility within contemporary defense policies and more specifically within strategic doctrines, which pay a growing attention to the use of armed forces in the climate resiliency of societies

Compte rendu de <em>Théories de la sécurité. Les approches critiques</em>

Compte rendu de l'ouvrage de Thierry Balzacq, Théories de la sécurité. Les approches critiques, Paris, Presses de Sciences Po, 2016, 506 p

Penser la protection de l’environnement en temps de guerre : les apports de la tradition de la guerre juste

La reconnaissance de l’environnement comme victime de guerre, à la suite de l’engagement américain au Vietnam, a stimulé l’étude de l’impact environnemental des conflits modernes au niveau international et son inscription dans le droit international humanitaire. Pourtant, à de rares exceptions près, l’éthique de la guerre accorde peu d’attention à cette dimension de la conflictualité, alors même que les auteurs de la tradition de la guerre juste ont été parmi les premiers à l’intégrer dans leurs traités moraux, dès la fin du 15e siècle. Dans cet article, il s’agit de montrer que ces auteurs justifient la protection de l’environnement en temps de guerre de manière utilitariste et conséquentialiste, mais aussi que l’éthique de la vertu complète de manière efficace ces arguments. Ce travail suppose de s’intéresser tour à tour aux différents critères moraux que cette tradition pose dans le cadre du jus in bello : la discrimination, la proportionnalité, le dernier recours et le double effet.Reflecting on the Protection of the Natural Environment in Times of War: The Contribution of the Just War Tradition - The recognition of the natural environment as a victim of war, after the Vietnam War, stimulated the study of the environmental impact of modern conflicts at the international level and its entry into international humanitarian law. However, apart from few exceptions, the ethics of war offers little attention to this aspect of war even though the authors of the just war tradition were among the first ones to address it in their moral treaties as soon as the end of the 15th century. In this article, we show that the classical authors justify the preservation of the environment in times of war through utilitarian and consequentialist arguments. We also show that virtue ethics represents an efficient way to complement them. This work implies to focus on the four main moral criteria included in the jus in bello: discrimination, proportionality, last resort and double effect

Preparing the French military to a warming world: climatization through riskification

This article studies the process of climatization of the French military initiated with the 21st Conference of the Parties in 2015 through an analysis of the discourses produced by military actors on climate change. I will argue that there are two ways in which the climatization of the military discourse operates. First, it leads to a reframing of existing security narratives such as migrations or armed conflicts through a climatic lens, which creates a sense of urgency and intensity. Second, the climatization of the military discourse is mediated by a riskification of climate change, through the adoption of a risk-based approach to prevent its security implications. It creates a sense of uncertainty and leads to the climatization of a growing number of security issues such as terrorism or illegal fisheries. Both processes contribute to legitimize military solutions in global climate governance and expand the scope of intervention of the armed forces

Le "lawfare" ou les usages stratégiques du droit

L’inflation contemporaine des usages du terme de lawfare dans la littérature en relations internationales a contribué à diluer son sens et à créer la confusion autour de sa signification. Une mise en perspective historique sur les conditions de formation de ce concept de « droit comme arme de guerre » permet de saisir les phénomènes politiques, juridiques et stratégiques auxquels il se réfère

Les armées et le changement climatique au temps de la haute intensité. Réflexions sur l’engagement dans des opérations dites “environnementales”

International audiencePlan de l'article : Introduction ; Discours et approches militaires sur la sécurité climatique et environnementale dans les arènes internationales ; Les missions environnementales sur le territoire national : mise en pratique, mise en politique ; Les missions militaires à dimension environnementale : perception par les armées, perception par la population ; De la gestion des crises environnementales à la haute intensité, choisir et anticiper ses bataille

Introduction: A Framework for Assessing Climate Security

This chapter introduces the book, Climate Security in the Anthropocene—Exploring the Approaches of United Nations Security Council Member-States. Climate change is increasingly positioned as a security issue. A number of influential governance actors including states, international organisations, and civil society groups now connect climate change to a variety of security threats such as armed conflict, disasters, low socio-economic development, and fragile governing institutions. These threat perceptions have translated into political action and have led to the formation of a complex constellation of governance actors in response. In particular, over the past fifteen years both permanent and non-permanent member-states of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) have been instrumental in constructing and responding to climate security threats. This introductory chapter presents the overall aim of the book, which is to analyse whether the concept of security has shifted over time with respect to climate change, and if so, how these shifts have occurred in state practices. It begins by tracing the evolution of climate security in academic scholarship and in the UNSC. It then presents the theoretical framework of the book, which distinguishes between three ideal-types of climate security: national security, human security, and ecological security. It concludes by outlining the methodology of the book, which is comprised of fifteen case study chapters that explore the various ways in which member-states that sat on the UNSC between 2018 and in 2020 constructed and responded to climate security threats