A Violent Landscape: The Influence of Climate Change on Human Conflict

Abstract

Climate change is the defining dilemma of the 21st century. Temperatures are increasing, sea levels are rising and resources are depleting, all exacerbated by a growing population. This thesis examines how environmental changes are affecting culture, specifically evaluating the influence of climate change on human conflict at interpersonal and institutional levels. These climate-related levels of conflict are shown to intersect. Conflict at an interpersonal level — for example, two men battling each other in Colorado over water rations — reflects, on a small-scale, the narratives of institutional-level conflict — such as water wars in Bolivia as protest for political change. This work demonstrates how climate related conflict of different magnitudes co-exist and cascade through societies. Durkheim’s theories of collective social action and Mazzarella’s concept of mana are used to understand multi-level cultural change as a product and potential mitigation tool from the violent consequences of environmental disruption.