Dartmouth Events

Arctic Security & The Urgency of Understanding Actorless Threats

A talk on climate and environmental change as a threat multiplier in the global security arena.

4/1/2024
4:30 pm – 5:30 pm
Haldeman Hall 41 (Kreindler Conference Hall)
Intended Audience(s): Public
Categories: Arts and Sciences, Lectures & Seminars

This talk will explore the Arctic as a case study of the intersection of actorless threats-- such as climate change and ecological upheaval-- with conventional threats posed by Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and tensions with China. Climate change is commonly referred to as a threat multiplier because of the way it intersects with already existing vulnerabilities to exacerbate fragility. The Arctic is warming up to four times faster than the global average with immense implications for global security due to its outsized potential to contribute to sea level rise, extreme weather, and biosecurity hazards, among other hazards. However, the nature of actorless threats differs in significant ways from actor-based threats, and as such demands a different analytical lens in order to effectively address the dimension of risk they pose.

This event will be livestreamed and recorded. Please register for the webinar here

Marisol Maddox is a Senior Arctic Analyst at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and an Operational Research Analyst at PolArctic, LLC. She is an adjunct professor at Syracuse University's Maxwell School where she teaches an Executive Masters course on Environmental Security. 

Sponsored by the Institute of Arctic Studies at the John Sloan Dickey Center for International Understanding. 

For more information, contact:
Sanaa Siddiqi

Events are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted.