The Ecology of War and Peace
Marginalising Slow and Structural Violence in International Law

Unpacks key assumptions about the 'environment', its relationship with violent conflict, and the justification for its protection underlying international law.

Eliana Cusato (Author)

9781108837521, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 16 September 2021

312 pages
23.5 x 15.9 x 2.2 cm, 0.59 kg

'Dr Cusato is cleared eyed about the complexity and difficulties involved in formulating a legal regime when some of the belligerents in intra-state conflicts are generally not constrained by formal rules of international law. The book offers profound inter-disciplinary insights and is candid in its conclusion that ultimately, here, lawyers don't have all the answers.' Phoebe Okowa, Professor of Public International Law, Queen Mary, University of London

The connection between ecology and conflict has been the object of extensive study by political scientists and economists. From the contribution of natural resource 'scarcity' to violent unrest and armed conflict; to resource 'abundance' as an incentive for initiating and prolonging armed struggles; to dysfunctional resource management and environmental degradation as obstacles to peacebuilding, this literature has exerted a huge influence upon academic discussions and policy developments. While international law is often invoked as the solution to the socio-environmental challenges faced by conflict-affected countries, its relationship with the ecology of war and peace remains undertheorised. Drawing upon environmental justice perspectives and other theoretical traditions, the book unpacks and problematizes some of the assumptions that underlie the legal field. Through an analysis of the practice of international courts, the UN Security Council, and Truth Commissions, it shows how international law silences and even normalizes forms of structural and slow environmental violence.

1. Introduction: international law, violence and visibility
Part I: Concepts, Theories, and Debates: 2. The ecology of war and peace: unpacking the assumptions
3. Origins and evolutions of legal debates on the environment-conflict 'nexus'
Part II: The Practice of International Law: 4. War crimes tribunals and the International Court of Justice: nature between property protection and humanitarian concerns
5. The United Nations Security Council: from 'conflict resources' to climate change as a 'threat' to international peace and security
6. Truth commissions: conflicts over extractive resources and the battle for different views of nature
7. Conclusion: towards a political ecology of international law.

Subject Areas: Environment law [LNKJ], International humanitarian law [LBBS], Public international law [LBB], International law [LB], Law [L], Armed conflict [JPWS]