Climate security and internal stability in Pakistan: Exploring resource conflicts, migration, and governance challenges

Abstract

Earth is the only planet with life. This existence of life on Earth is due to suitable environmental conditions. For the past few decades, the Earth’s environment has been changing, mainly due to human activities. This results in fluctuations in the Earth's climate. Some scholars consider climate change as Non-Traditional Security Threats because it has spread beyond the environment to the political, socio-economic, and human security concerns. The negative effects of climate change include frequent flooding, droughts, extreme weather and resource depletion. It is more frequent in countries like Pakistan, which are most vulnerable to its impacts. It has placed an increased strain on communities and institutions, posing a challenge to intra-communal stability. Thus, this study investigates the relationship between climate security and internal stability in Pakistan by analysing challenges of resource conflict, climate-induced migration and governance issues in the years 2013-2024 using the Human Security Framework and Environmental Scarcity Theory. The research is qualitative, based on a thematic analysis of policy documents, government reports, disaster management records and secondary literature. This research indicate that the strong policies are required in policy implementation, institutional coordination, and inclusion of climate risks in national security planning.