The Mongols, their Wars and Climate Change
LAKIASUO, LAURI (2010)
LAKIASUO, LAURI
2010
Kansainvälinen politiikka - International Relations
Yhteiskuntatieteellinen tiedekunta - Faculty of Social Sciences
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Hyväksymispäivämäärä
2010-06-02
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:uta-1-20687
https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:uta-1-20687
Tiivistelmä
The causal relationship between climate change and violent conflict is emerging as crucial one in the modern debate. As a possible causal pathway climate change induced food scarcity has been mentioned with reference to Mongols, a classical case study of Malthusianism. By studying the motivations of the Mongols' wars of conquest by utilizing modern theories of security it is possible to re-evaluate the motivations underlying these wars. As a theory the societal security -related food security and as a method the process tracing of a case study may be utilized. During the formation of the Mongol Empire the Mongolian Steppe experienced sudden decline in temperature and as a result the prerequisites in terms of environment for practicing the nomadic livestock herding were diminished. The Mongols practiced warfare that was not directed against enemy; rather it was warfare for obtaining resources such as pasture lands that would have supported the Mongol society. The Mongols also thought of food and anything related as a security issue and a cause of war in the light of their contemporary literary sources when analyzed utilizing the theory of socially constructed security. Climate change induced food security deficit in the form of climate cooling is indicated in debating the origins the Mongols's wars of conquest.