Scarcity, Human Security, and the Tragedy of the Commons

Vocabulary flashcards covering the lecture’s key terms on ecological scarcity, human security, resource conflict, and the tragedy of the commons.

Ecological Scarcity

A shortage of vital environmental resources (water, food, minerals, energy) that undermines state stability and human well-being.

Human Security

Protection of individuals from chronic threats—political violence, poverty, cultural oppression, environmental hazards—beyond traditional state-centric security.

Strategic Minerals

Rare ores and metals essential for military or high-tech production; currently dominated in supply by China, creating future fault-lines.

Peak Oil

The point at which global petroleum extraction reaches its maximum rate, after which production declines and scarcity rises.

Tragedy of the Commons

Garrett Hardin’s concept that individually rational use of a shared resource ultimately depletes or destroys that resource, harming all.

Demand-Induced Scarcity

Resource shortage driven by rising population or consumption that outpaces supply, e.g., larger families increasing food and water demand.

Supply-Induced Scarcity

Resource shortage caused by environmental degradation or over-extraction, reducing the total amount available to everyone.

Garrett Hardin

Ecologist who coined the ‘tragedy of the commons,’ illustrating how common-pool resources are overused by self-interested actors.

Elinor Ostrom

Political economist who argued that top-down global governance rarely solves commons dilemmas; local, cooperative management is essential.

New Geography of Conflict

Robert Kaplan’s idea that future wars will cluster around zones rich in oil, water, timber, or minerals rather than ideological fault-lines.

Stress State

A government whose institutions are strained by scarcity, making it a breeding ground for insecurity, extremism, or proliferation.

Climate Change as Security Threat

View that warming, droughts, and extreme weather are as dangerous as arms races, eroding state power and human livelihoods.

Energy Security

A state’s ability to obtain reliable, affordable energy; threatened by dwindling oil fields and riskier extraction like deepwater drilling.

Food Insecurity

Rising prices and declining crop yields that leave populations without reliable access to sufficient, nutritious food.

Water Scarcity

Insufficient fresh water for drinking, agriculture, and industry, often triggering internal strife or cross-border conflict.

Commons Dilemma

Any situation where shared resources are vulnerable to overuse because benefits are private but costs are diffuse.

Overgrazing

Classic example of the commons dilemma where herders add animals for personal gain, destroying the shared pasture.

Cheating Incentive

Motivation for actors to defect from cooperative environmental agreements to gain short-term national or personal advantage.

Individually Rational / Collectively Destructive

Behavior that benefits single actors yet cumulatively damages the group, central to scarcity and commons problems.

No Technical Solution

Hardin’s claim that scientific or engineering fixes alone cannot resolve commons dilemmas; behavioral change is required.

Coercion Paradox

Imposing external controls (e.g., UN mandates) can deepen resentment and non-compliance, worsening commons overuse.

Offshore Deepwater Drilling

High-risk, expensive extraction method reflecting growing desperation for new petroleum sources as conventional wells decline.

Unconventional Onshore Extraction

Methods like shale fracking that increase supply but introduce new ecological and social problems.

Meat Pressure on Grain

Rising meat consumption in developing economies that diverts grain to animal feed, inflating global food prices.

Population Growth Safety Net

State welfare that reduces the cost of large families, unintentionally encouraging higher birth rates and resource strain.