Climate change, human (in)security, and violent conflict.

Climate change is undoubtedly a powerful phenomenon capable of transforming society and influencing human behavior, in some instances laying the groundwork for criminogenic conditions. As such, a plethora of research has emerged on the topic which has recently spilled into criminology. By bringing together research from a number of disciplines, the aims of this literature review are to examine the variety of ways in which climate change can undermine human security by exacerbating social inequality, economic deprivation, political instability, cultural disintegration and ethnic tension, and in turn explain how these effects may increase instances of violent conflict, war, genocide, terrorism and various types of crimes and violence around the world. A range of examples are provided to illustrate these connections, which are then analyzed from a number of theoretical standpoints (conflict, strain, social disorganization, rational choice, etc.) in order to provide a criminological perspective. Finally, some of the problems in this area of research are reviewed with the aim to help foster more scientifically sound research agendas, while speculating on the future problems climate change may pose to law enforcement agencies in the coming years and how these can be overcome.