Poli Sci 334 Exam 1

Environmental Scarcity

Environmental Scarcity is the decrease in available renewable resources

• Examples:

  • Scarcity of food/agriculture, water, fertile soil

  • Sub-Saharan Africa population growth which strains per capita water supplies

  • Syrian agricultural decline due to droughts

Worlds Systems Theory

Developed by sociologist Immanuel Wallerstein views the global economy as one interconnected capitalist system rather than a collection of isolated national economies

• Core, Semi-Periphery and Periphery countries

Core Countries

Design products extract cheap materials from poor countries and sell manufactured goods at higher rates

Semi-Periphery countries

They manufacture goods or assemble technology using resources from the periphery and instructions or funding from the core, experiencing upward or downward mobility.

Periphery countries

Poorer nations that lack strong central governments and rely on low-skill, labor-intensive production and raw material exports. They supply cheap labor and natural resources.

Pathways to conflict

Abundance and scarcity of natural resources

Indigenous conflict

Indigenous conflict typically involves disputes over ancestral land, natural resources, and self-determination between Native communities, governments, and corporate industries

Treadmill of production

Expands on environmental sociology's core theory that modern capitalism is locked in an escalating, ecologically destructive cycle of economic expansion

Climate adaptation

the ongoing process of adjusting to actual or expected climate change impacts to reduce harm, manage risks, and capture beneficial opportunities

Stakeholder collaborations

the active, coordinated process of working with internal and external individuals or groups who have a vested interest in a project to shape decisions, solve problems, and achieve shared objectives

Collaboration governance

a process where public agencies, private entities, and community stakeholders work together collectively to design and implement public policy or manage public assets

political ecology

an interdisciplinary academic field that studies how political, economic, and social power dynamics shape environmental issues and changes

ecofeminism

connects the oppression of women with the exploitation and degradation of nature

conflict & the Congo

driven by a complex mix of regional tensions, ethnic disputes, and a bloody fight for control over lucrative critical minerals like cobalt, colton, and gold

Dutch Disease

an economic phenomenon where a sudden boom or massive income inflow in one specific sector—most commonly natural resources—causes a decline in other economic sectors like manufacturing or agriculture

water & violence

driven less by raw ecological scarcity and more by systemic inequality, weak governance, and the deliberate weaponization of infrastructure

patron-client

describe hierarchical, reciprocal ties where powerful actors (patrons) distribute resources, protection, or regulatory exemptions to lesser actors (clients) in exchange for political loyalty, compliance, or revenue

resource curse

is a phenomenon where countries rich in natural resources like oil, gas, and minerals experience slower economic growth, weaker governance, and more conflict than resource-poor nations

cobalt processing

Cobalt processing sits at the intersection of the clean energy transition, geopolitical rivalry, and environmental injustice

HEP

Human Exemptionalism Paradigm. It is a worldview that assumes human beings are culturally, socially, and technologically distinct from—and "exempt" from—the physical and ecological limits that govern other species. [1, 2, 3]

CSR

Environmental Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in political science is the study of how businesses use voluntary environmental initiatives to interact with public policy, government regulation, and political power.

Population pressure

describes how rapid demographic growth and high population density strain natural resources, overwhelm state institutions, and trigger political conflict or instability

mining legislation

how laws governing resource extraction are created, contested, and reformed through the interaction of political power, economic interests, and ecological concerns.