Blogs & Opinions

South Asia's New Water Conflict Is over Data, Not Dams

Jun 6, 2026 | Saima Afzal

Today the challenge facing the treaty extends beyond water allocation itself. It concerns transparency, compliance and the growing strategic value of information in shared river…

UNCLOS Conciliation: Cambodia’s Path to Peace, Not Conflict

Jun 6, 2026 | Roth Santepheap

Cambodia’s decision to pursue compulsory conciliation under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea is not a move toward confrontation. It is a…

Water Wars Washing away South Asia’s Fragile Peace

Jun 5, 2026 | Jannatul Naym Pieal

Six decades of water cooperation are giving way to surging water nationalism — a shift that is fast weaponizing the region’s rivers.

Environmental Security Means National Security. It Cannot Be Secured through Treaties Alone

Jun 4, 2026 | Aisha Khan

On every World Environment Day (June 5), nations pause to acknowledge a crisis that has been in the making for over half a century. For…

Disaster Risk Reduction during Armed Conflicts

Jun 4, 2026 | Rebekah Harries

Countries enduring conflict are hit harder and suffer more deaths when disasters such as storms and earthquakes strike. Rebekah Harries asks whether disaster risk reduction…

The Geopolitics of Geo-Engineering: Weather Warfare vs. Climate Security

Jun 3, 2026 | Nayef Al-Rodhan

What happens when the climate itself becomes a theatre of geopolitical competition? As climate instability deepens and rivalry between major powers intensifies, environmental systems are…

Do Minefields Protect Wildlife? It’s Complicated.

Jun 3, 2026 | Franciany Braga-Pereira

By excluding people minefields can reduce pressure from human activities like hunting or development. With governments obliged to clear mines and explosive remnants of war,…

Geopark and Biosphere Programs Provide a Path for Peace in Hormuz

Jun 3, 2026 | Saleem H. Ali

The current conflict between Iran, Israel and the United States has unexpectedly become anchored in the Arabian/Persian Gulf, and most notably around the Straits of…

From Conflict to Coexistence: Climate, Peace, and Pakistan’s Diplomatic Role

Jun 1, 2026 | Shuja Ahmad

By integrating climate responsibility into its diplomacy, Pakistan can promote peace, strengthen its global standing, and advocate for environmental justice in an increasingly conflict-ridden world.

Syria: The Ancient Flower That Survived Syria’s Wars Faces a New Threat

May 31, 2026 | Emily Garthwaite
Atmos

The Damascus rose has survived empire, crusade, and civil war. Now it faces a heating planet, and the question of who gets to claim it.

Failed Governance: The Social And Environmental Costs of Mining in Myanmar

May 29, 2026 | Hsu Latt Phyu

Mining activities often fail to comply with laws and Environmental Impact Assessment procedures, leading to land loss, water scarcity, and severe pollution that directly affect local communities.…

The Pentagon Knows the True Threat of Climate Denialism. Too Bad It Can’t Do Anything about It.

May 27, 2026 | Charles P. Pierce

Newly uncovered documents reveal that the military very recently identified potentially dire geopolitical consequences of climate change. Then a climate denier moved into the Oval…

Environmental Peacebuilding Is Dead. Long Live Climate Realism

May 26, 2026 | Carmit Lubanov

For decades, the standard textbook for Mediterranean environmental diplomacy was built on a comforting premise known as “environmental peacebuilding.” The theory promised that climate change…

Why Is ODI Global Researching Social Movements for Climate Justice in the Niger Delta?

May 26, 2026 | Caitlin Stronge and Isaac Asume Osuoka

Previous research at ODI Global has demonstrated the importance of grassroots social movements for achieving social and political change and argues that, if supported with…

When Climate Becomes a National Security Blind Spot

May 25, 2026 | Nigel Savage

At the very moment when climate risks are accelerating across the world and the Middle East, Israel’s National Security Council is stepping back from addressing…

No Fuel, No Plan: Uganda and South Sudan Brace as Kenya Strikes

May 22, 2026 | Bec George Anyak

Uganda faces imminent fuel shortages if the just-ended transport strike in Kenya, temporarily suspended for a one-week grace period to allow dialogue, fails to resolve…

Water as a Weapon in the Nuclearized South Asia: The Relevance of Indus Waters Treaty

May 21, 2026 | Sarah Saeed

The latest decision of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in favor of Pakistan in its hydroelectric projects at Ratle Hydroelectric Plant and Kishanganga Hydroelectric Plant…

From Environmental Concern to Security Priority: Nature Loss as a Systemic Risk

May 19, 2026 | Shahzoda Alikhanova

The idea that biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation pose security risks is not new. What is new is a step change in how governments are…

Weaponizing Supply Chains: How Iran and China Drive Strategic Food Insecurity in Modern Conflict

May 19, 2026 | Bruce Randolph Tizes

Iran did not improvise the Hormuz crisis. The mine stockpiles, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps’ fast-boat fleet, and the Houthi program at Bab al-Mandab are…

The Missing Piece in Conflict Resolution

May 19, 2026 | Michael Keating

Conflict resolution is about much more than short-term agreements and transactional deals among powerful actors. Ceasefires can reduce suffering and create space for dialogue. But…

Myanmar’s Resource Curse Fueling Its Forever War

May 18, 2026 | James Shwe

Myanmar’s war is often described as a clash of ideologies, ethnic identities and competing visions of the state. That is true, but incomplete. At its…

DRC Is Sending in the Military to Guard Mines and Critical Minerals. Will It Be Enough?

May 17, 2026 | James Boafo, Alex Owusu Amoakoh, Jacob Obodai, and Senyo Dotsey

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is taking an unusual step to secure its critical minerals. It plans to create a new paramilitary unit to…

Deploying AI to Shed Light on the Murky Depths of Multi-Tier Supply Chains

May 14, 2026 | Jonathan Drimmer and Carl Hahn

As artificial intelligence becomes embedded across supply chain operations, companies are well-advised to plan for heightened expectations around transparency, explainability and governance from customers, investors,…

Minerals for Regime Security in the DRC

May 14, 2026 | Michelle Gavin

The Trump administration has made it plain that they have little interest in supporting democratic governance around the world, arguing that internal legitimacy issues can…

Climate Change as a Threat Multiplier in the Global South

May 14, 2026 | Lou Didelot

From devastating floods in Pakistan to prolonged droughts across the Horn of Africa, climate-related disasters are increasingly shaping political and humanitarian crises around the world.…

The Trump Administration’s Security-for-Minerals Model Faces Test in the DRC

May 13, 2026 | Chris Dantes

Minimal progress has been achieved towards a permanent settlement of conflict between the DRC and the Rwanda-backed rebel group M23. Fighting in the eastern Congo…

Peace Is Negotiable, Access Is Not: How Africa’s Mineral Belts Became War Economies

May 13, 2026 | Babatunde Fatai

On February 18, 2026, a ceasefire in the Democratic Republic of Congo was supposed to begin. It did not. M23 had publicly rejected the Angolan-proposed…

AI’s Environmental Footprint Is a Gendered Security Risk

May 12, 2026 | Tamara Bah

The infrastructure powering artificial intelligence (AI) has become both a political flashpoint and a signal for strategic warfare with significant military, geopolitical, and international security implications. Climate change is a “threat multiplier”…

Global: AI’s Environmental Footprint is a Gendered Security Risk

May 12, 2026 | Tamara Bah
New Security Beat

The infrastructure powering artificial intelligence (AI) has become both a political flashpoint and a signal for strategic warfare with significant military, geopolitical, and international security…

Climate Finance as a Tool for Global Stability

May 11, 2026 | Madelyn MacMurray

The relationship between climate vulnerability and political instability is clear. Twenty-two of the 30 countries ranked as the most vulnerable to climate change in 2025 also were categorized as fragile and/or conflict affected. Within this contexts,…