Thus far, it has been argued that contemporary global conflicts are to a large
extent influenced by race due to the instrumentalisation of the concept by the
media and political actors. However, it can be said that contemporary global
conflicts are also influenced and caused by other detrimental societal factors and
occurrences. In the following section the influential nature of race in the causation
of global contemporary conflicts will be undermined through a discussion of how
conflicts can be caused through by-products of globalisation.
Globalisation is a process which refers to the ‘widening, deepening, and
acceleration of worldwide connectivity or interconnectedness’ (McGrew, 2019,
p.2). As Goldin and Mariathasan observe, this phenomenon has undoubtedly
created a complex world of systemic interdependencies not just between
countries, but also between global systems, whereby national borders now
provide little protection from distant dangers such as conflict or war (Goldin &
Mariathasan, 2015).
A particular sector that has been shaped by the effects of globalisation, even
more so in recent years due to the advent of climate change, is the environment.
Canadian political scientist HomerDixon especially identifies three types of
pressures upon the environment that can lead to global security concerns. Firstly,
the degradation of resources, secondly, growing demand for resources due to
population or economic growth, and thirdly, a change in access to resources due
to inequalities (Homer-Dixon, 1994). These are perceived to be significant factors
that can influence conflict due to their effect on economic decline and the
weakening of the social fabric (Morin et al., 2020). When reflecting upon the
interconnected nature of globalisation, it can be said that these pressures now
exacerbate conflict as battles over the control of resources take place, especially
in underdeveloped countries, which subsequently places pressure on the state,
causing its collapse (Morin et al., 2020).
46
Made with FlippingBook HTML5