Fragile states, populated by some two billion peo-
ple, are emerging as one of the greatest threats to in-
ternational security, as reflected by the U.S. National
Security Strategy. Why certain states fail, while others
succeed, continues to perplex researchers. Environ-
mental stressors, in concert with social, economic, and
institutional factors, are being recognized as contribu-
tors to fragility and, if left unabated, will contribute to
increase social unrest and violent conflict. However,
the complexity of the causal pathways makes these re-
lationships challenging to articulate.
Early and accurate identification of unsustainable
practices can help structure successful interventions
in addressing fragility in a more comprehensive man-
ner requiring employment of appropriate elements of
U.S. national power. Various approaches have been
proposed to provide early warning of state failure,
but, to date, the importance of environmental and nat-
ural resources have not received adequate consider-
ation. This chapter explores these issues, and the need
to reinforce sustainability principles in U.S. security
discourse and to engage fragile states across the full
spectrum of operations in support of U.S. national in-
terests abroad. The environment will be shown to be
an important component of national, regional, global
stability, and security. Finally the need for a common
conceptual framework to better assess sustainable se-
curity and fragility will be explored.
Human-Environment Interactions
The environment plays a critical role in human
and societal welfare. It provides a foundation which
supports the most basic level of physiological needs
(Maslow 1943). Sustainable human societies depend
on critical services which are supplied by natural eco-