(iPoster) The Evolution of Global Ecological Security and Governance Dilemmas

• In Event: Poster Session: Information Technology and Politics & Science, Technology, and Environment
  In Poster Session: Poster Session: Science, Technology, and Environment

Abstract

Ecological security is increasingly becoming a crucial issue that concerns the fate of the globe and urgently requires consideration from a global integration perspective. However, the long-standing research paradigm that focuses on the technical aspects and local regions has obscured the essential understanding of "global ecological security." Building on the securitization of ecological issues, global ecological security emphasizes the common significance that transcends national boundaries and is supported by the ecological security of individual countries. It has become a comprehensive issue that interacts with various types of security and involves multiple countries around the world, continuously presenting a higher strategic importance.

The "securitization" of ecological issues encompasses three key stages: threat identification, threat proliferation, and threat response. Firstly, ecological risks and ecological security have an inverse functional relationship, which means that in assessing the evolution of global ecological security, we need to grasp a deep understanding of ecological risks. Secondly, based on the transformation of risks into threats, we need to analyze the reality and underlying evolutionary mechanisms of the proliferation of global ecological security threats. Lastly, in terms of threat response, the practical path of global ecological security shows a "spiral upward" trend, involving the progress and improvement of ecological concepts and development philosophies. Based on this, this paper will explore the evolutionary logic of the global ecological security form from three stages: risk perception, threat proliferation, and strategy evolution.

By analyzing the evolution of the global ecological security landscape, a "progress paradox" can be identified: the perception of ecological risks becomes increasingly comprehensive and precise, and the technical means and strategies for risk prevention and response are also continuously improving. However, the proliferation of ecological security threats has not been fundamentally curbed but has instead intensified. This paradox reflects that global ecological security governance is not merely a matter of "cognition" or "technology," but rather a complex "political" issue. The ecological and environmental system is one filled with power dynamics rather than political inertia, where power relations profoundly influence the interaction between humans and nature. In the interplay between nature and politics, the dynamic competition of state power, technology, knowledge, and ideology on a global scale significantly affects the governance process of global ecological security.

Firstly, the current governance of global ecological security faces a prominent dilemma of supply and demand mismatch, characterized by a "reverse matching" phenomenon between the possession/supply and demand of technological and knowledge resources. Secondly, although many countries have incorporated ecological security into their national security strategy frameworks and demonstrated a consensus on the strategic commitment to global ecological security governance through the signing of a series of international agreements, there is a significant gap between strategic commitments and actual actions, leading to the failure of governance consensus to fully translate into effective governance actions. Thirdly, the governance of global ecological security exhibits a "fragmented" structural feature. Against the backdrop of a lack of effective connection between different mechanism clusters and rules, and the existence of content vacuums in the mechanism and rule system, the actions of various governance entities are dispersed and lack coordination, presenting a state of segmentation and collective action dilemmas. Lastly, from some countries' treaty violations and the promotion of ecological colonialism, as well as the asymmetric security and development patterns between the North and South, it can be seen that the order of global ecological security governance is, in fact, unjust.

Maintaining and constructing global ecological security has become an inevitable choice for all humanity. The rise of green political concepts, green lifestyles, and green governance practices on a global scale has preliminarily laid the foundation for global ecological security. However, how to promote the transformation of ecological security strategies from "minimum guarantee" to "leadership development," and to pursue the long-term stability of global ecological security with a more proactive attitude and a more forward-looking and strategic perspective, remains an "unfinished thought."

Author

• Teng Tan, Tongji University