POLS 121 FINAL QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS VERIFIED AND ACCURATELY
SOLVED.
, Sources of Insecurity: Environmental Security and Scarcity - ANSWER*Scarcity is a
threat and trigger for conflict in the international system
*4 types of security: political (right to be free from dictatorship); Economic and Social
(right to survive via economic opportunity); Cultural (right to be who we want);
Environmental (free from eco destruction)
*Strategic minerals: all minerals necessary for modern technology (most come from
China; less minerals=more conflict)
*Energy: most big oil fields already discovered; eventually supply will run out
*Food: sharp decline in yields from farmers causes rising prices causes people to
change what they eat
*Water: water scarcity triggers internal and external conflict and insecurity
*Conflict of the future will be driven by scarcity and human insecurity, NOT ideology
*Tragedy of the Commons: personal gains and shared costs make it rational to overuse
the commons; creates demand induced scarcity (pop. growth) and supply induced
scarcity (states have incentive to deplete resources); external intervention exacerbates
tragedy
*too many resources just as bad as too little: African states lack authority to protect
internal resources from themselves
*Nat'l security of the future dedicated to fighting scarcity (solutions=technology, better
insurance, new sources of energy)(issue=tradeoff b/w energy policy and human security
politics)
Robert Kaplan: "The Coming Anarchy" - ANSWER*West African states are not strong
enough to provide security for citizens and tourists
*"The govt in Sierra Leone has no writ after dark"
*Maps of West Africa don't accurately portray boundaries of power (people trafficking
makes borders meaningless)
*NO FUNCTIONAL SOVEREIGNTY IN WEST AFRICA
*Future wars/violence will happen bc of resource scarcity
*SocialSocial Theory=there are only social causes for social and political changes, NOT
natural causes
*Africa=moving centers of power, NOT state lines
Homer-Dixon: "Terror in the Weather Forecast" - ANSWER*Island states agree climate
change is a threat; states dependent on fossil fuels dismiss it as a threat
*droughts and heat waves will "rip apart societies from one side of the planet to the
other"
*climate change more dangerous than nuclear proliferation
*Environmental stress multiplies pain brought about by poverty
*climate change promotes genocide, insurgencies, and terrorism
ANSWERS VERIFIED AND ACCURATELY
SOLVED.
, Sources of Insecurity: Environmental Security and Scarcity - ANSWER*Scarcity is a
threat and trigger for conflict in the international system
*4 types of security: political (right to be free from dictatorship); Economic and Social
(right to survive via economic opportunity); Cultural (right to be who we want);
Environmental (free from eco destruction)
*Strategic minerals: all minerals necessary for modern technology (most come from
China; less minerals=more conflict)
*Energy: most big oil fields already discovered; eventually supply will run out
*Food: sharp decline in yields from farmers causes rising prices causes people to
change what they eat
*Water: water scarcity triggers internal and external conflict and insecurity
*Conflict of the future will be driven by scarcity and human insecurity, NOT ideology
*Tragedy of the Commons: personal gains and shared costs make it rational to overuse
the commons; creates demand induced scarcity (pop. growth) and supply induced
scarcity (states have incentive to deplete resources); external intervention exacerbates
tragedy
*too many resources just as bad as too little: African states lack authority to protect
internal resources from themselves
*Nat'l security of the future dedicated to fighting scarcity (solutions=technology, better
insurance, new sources of energy)(issue=tradeoff b/w energy policy and human security
politics)
Robert Kaplan: "The Coming Anarchy" - ANSWER*West African states are not strong
enough to provide security for citizens and tourists
*"The govt in Sierra Leone has no writ after dark"
*Maps of West Africa don't accurately portray boundaries of power (people trafficking
makes borders meaningless)
*NO FUNCTIONAL SOVEREIGNTY IN WEST AFRICA
*Future wars/violence will happen bc of resource scarcity
*SocialSocial Theory=there are only social causes for social and political changes, NOT
natural causes
*Africa=moving centers of power, NOT state lines
Homer-Dixon: "Terror in the Weather Forecast" - ANSWER*Island states agree climate
change is a threat; states dependent on fossil fuels dismiss it as a threat
*droughts and heat waves will "rip apart societies from one side of the planet to the
other"
*climate change more dangerous than nuclear proliferation
*Environmental stress multiplies pain brought about by poverty
*climate change promotes genocide, insurgencies, and terrorism
