Environmental Peacebuilding: Transnational Action to Protect the Environment as a Platform of Advanced Conflict Prevention in the Middle East (Environmental Peacebuilding: Transnarodowe Działania na Rzecz Ochrony Srodowiska Jako Platforma Zaawansowanego Zapobiegania Konfliktom na Bliskim Wschodzie)

Abstract

Can environmental protection constitute a foundation for the peaceful coexistence of communities and societies in regions of conflict? Drawing on the notion of Advanced Conflict Prevention (ACP) we suggest, that such a situation is plausible due to (often hidden) mechanisms of de-securitization and de-politicization which are linked to the tightening of environemntal cooperation at a transnational level. We try to answer this question through the analysis of the experiences of the NGO Friends of the Earth Middle East (FoEME), operating in Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian Autonomy, and being the only tri-partite ecological organization in the region. Using the materials published by the organization, interviews and available statements by key political actors, we make an attempt to trace the process of de-securitization and show under what conditions it can occur.

Note: Downloadable document is in German.

Keywords: environmental politics, peace-building, social movements, rhetoric, discourse, conflict