Northern Warning Lights: Ambiguities of Environmental Security in Finland and Sweden

Emma Hakala, Ville Lähde, Antti Majava, Tero Toivanen, Tere Vadén, Paavo Järvensivu and Jussi T. Eronen
Additional contact information
Emma Hakala: Global Security Programme, Finnish Institute of International Affairs, 00101 Helsinki, Finland
Ville Lähde: BIOS Research Unit, 00170 Helsinki, Finland
Antti Majava: BIOS Research Unit, 00170 Helsinki, Finland
Tero Toivanen: BIOS Research Unit, 00170 Helsinki, Finland
Tere Vadén: BIOS Research Unit, 00170 Helsinki, Finland
Paavo Järvensivu: BIOS Research Unit, 00170 Helsinki, Finland
Jussi T. Eronen: BIOS Research Unit, 00170 Helsinki, Finland

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 8, 1-15

Abstract: As the literature on environmental security has evolved and widened, knowledge of the full range of potential consequences of environmental change for different societies remains scattered. This article contributes to a more comprehensive approach to the implications of environmental change by providing a three-level framework of the security impacts. In particular, it will address gaps in knowledge by pointing out the relevance of geopolitical and structural factors behind environmental security impacts. The article will focus on the cases of two countries, Finland and Sweden—both seen as stable, high-income democracies that are well equipped to adapt to climate risks. Yet even under these conditions, preparedness to threat-prevention will not follow without a recognition of the full range of risks, including ones that are linked to socio-economic and geopolitical factors. On the basis of the Finnish and Swedish cases, the article proposes an analytical framework of three categories of environmental security impacts: local, geopolitical and structural.

Keywords: environmental security; security impacts; societal transformation; resilience (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/8/2228/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/8/2228/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:8:p:2228-:d:222479

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().