From Securitisation to Adaptation: Reinterpreting the Relationship between Climate Change and Security

Abstract

The article analyses the dominant ways of interpreting the relationship between climate change and security, comparing the securitisation approach with the approach based on adaptive capacity and resilience. The text is a conceptual analysis based on a literature review, supplemented by illustrative case studies. Its goal is to reconstruct these approaches and answer the question of how different analytical frameworks perceive the relationship between climate change and security, and which factors they consider key to explaining it.
The article discusses the process of treating climate as a security threat and the concept of threat multiplier, pointing out that although they contribute to political mobilisation, they are reductionist and oversimplify complex socio-political conditions. It is argued that the impact of climate change on security is mediated primarily by adaptive capacity and institutional quality, rather than resulting directly from environmental stressors themselves.
Drawing on research on Syria, Darfur, the Sahel, and Morocco, the article challenges the thesis of a direct link between climate change and violence, pointing out that environmental factors mainly affect existing institutional weaknesses and inequalities. Based on this, an alternative approach is presented, focusing on sensitivity, adaptability and resilience. Examples of the Netherlands, Bangladesh, and Japan show that effective risk management, efficient institutions, and social participation reduce instability. Consequently, the quality of governance, not climate exposure, is crucial for safety.