Mesfin Tadesse Bekalo

Climate Change-induced Conflict: a Systematic Review and Thematic Analysis of Literature Mesfin Tadesse Bekalo

Evidence on climate change impact has mounted through time and it is widely argued that the consequences of climate change are likely to result in an increased vulnerability in human security. The aim of this research was to map available evidence on climate-induced conflict, critically appraising literature and synthesizing the results by categorizing articles according to their theme. There are very few researches oriented to deal with the issue of climate-induced conflict. Evidence on climate/weather-induced conflict is more theoretically than empirically driven. A few of the empirical studies included were statistically and methodologically rigorous to analyze the links between climate change and conflict, however, the sample sizes and the time periods looked at were too short to support the arguments made. There is a shortage of meaningful evidence and too much uncertainty on the links between climate change and conflict. Therefore, much in depth empirical investigation which links the two variables in relation to other social dimensions such as poverty and livelihood security is required before generalizing and making predictions about climate change and conflict.