The “three geos”: a new approach to study environmental security scenarios in the Asia-Pacific

Abstract

The long-standing assumption that environment is static has been undermined with recent changes in the environment (geophysical), such as the rapid retreat of the summertime Arctic sea ice. As environmental and climate change reshapes geography, it is also reshaping geo-economics and geopolitics. There is a need to investigate the inter-linkages between the three “geos” (originally introduced by Cleo Paskal) and resource stress/scarcity, shifting energy policies, vulnerability of critical installations, agricultural practices and food prices, technology development/deployment, investment strategies, among others. This article analyzes how these dynamics affect the geostrategic positioning of major powers like the United States, China, and Japan as well as pivotal players like Southeast Asian countries. For instance, the 2011 Fukushima disaster, besides affecting Japan’s energy distribution and usage patterns, has also had a cascading impact on its economy (reasons include import ban on Japanese fisheries products by countries in the region due to radioactive leakage), directly affecting its political position in East Asia in opposition to politically and economically stronger China.

Keywords:

• three geos
• environmental security
• Asia-Pacific
• Fukushima disaster

Acknowledgments

I express my heartfelt gratitude to my research (PhD) guide, Dr Nanda Kishor M.S., Assistant Professor, Department of Geopolitics and International Relations, Manipal University, for providing me the academic platform to explore themes that might not fit the traditional understanding of security studies but are extremely relevant in today’s international security environment. I thank Prof. Arvind Kumar, Head, Department of Geopolitics and International Relations, for inspiring me to write this article through his lectures on the Indo-Pacific during my PhD coursework. I owe greatly to Ms. Cleo Paskal, my mentor and Adjunct Faculty at the Department of Geopolitics and International Relations, who coined the concept – “three geos,” for giving me valuable inputs for the article.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Dhanasree Jayaram

Dhanasree Jayaram is a Visiting PhD Scholar (2014–2015) in the Leiden University Institute for Area Studies (LIAS), Leiden, The Netherlands; PhD Researcher in the Department of Geopolitics and International Relations and a Project Associate at the Manipal Advanced Research Group (MARG), Manipal University, Karnataka, India; and Research Fellow, the Earth Sciences Governance Project. She is the author of “Breaking out the Green House: Indian Leadership in Times of Environmental Change” (2012).