‘Climatizing’ military strategy? A case study of the Indian armed forces

International Politics https://doi.org/10.1057/s41311-020-00247-3 ORIGINAL ARTICLE ‘Climatizing’ military strategy? A case study of the Indian armed forces Dhanasree Jayaram1 © The Author(s) 2020 Abstract Climate change is increasingly shaping security narratives, including military strategy. While considering climate change a security issue, the military’s role in this discourse and praxis becomes critical as a security actor. However, the interrelationships between climate change, security and the military are conceived and approached by different states diversely. Within different states, this triangular relationship is guided by processes with varied practical/policy implications. While ‘securitization’ has generally been used to explain climate security, other processes such as ‘climatization’ have assumed significance, wherein security practices are climatized. The Indian military too has been engaging with security implications of climate change, but by using approaches distinct from Western states, which have been the usual focus in such analyses. In this paper, the framework of climatization is used to analyse the triangular relationship, using the case study of the Indian military—by categorizing climatizing moves as symbolic, strategic, precautionary and transformative. Keywords Climatization · Securitization · Riskification · Indian military · Climate security Introduction Climate change is increasingly being recognized as an international security challenge that impinges on a nation state’s military tactically, operationally and strategically. The involvement of militaries in environmental and climate security has been further bolstered through initiatives such as the International Military Council for Climate and Security (IMCCS), which was launched at the 2019 Planetary Security Conference in The Hague. The role of the military in environmental and climate * Dhanasree Jayaram ; 1 Department of Geopolitics and International Relations & Centre for Climate Studies, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, Karnataka, India Vol.:(0123456789) D. Jayaram tasks is facilitated through various frames and lenses. While ‘greening defence’ is a more popular rhetoric (particularly against the background of the military being one of the biggest polluters), framing of climate change as a ‘threat multiplier’, exacerbating security threats/risks, especially in conflict scenarios, is also gaining traction. Why militaries care or need to care about climate change has been enunciated by making a case for potential large-scale deployment of militaries for Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR), humanitarian intervention in conflict-ridden areas and even the impacts of climate change on military assets and installations. Furthermore, the military, being self-sufficient and multifaceted, is viewed as an agency that could lead environmental stewardship in its own domain as well as in coordination with civil actors in other domains, thereby becoming a part of the solution. However, the military–climate security interface is neither straightforwardly explained nor diversely represented. As the relationship between climate change and security itself is conceived and approached diversely by different states, the practical implications of involving the military in climate change-related issues are being debated in many contexts. Fears related to ‘militarization’ of climate change and ‘green washing’ in this context have not been adequately addressed. Most of the debates/discussions on this theme are driven by institutions and experts based in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)1 countries. Among the countries in the developing world, while some (especially the most vulnerable ones) are proactive in pushing the climate security discourse, others are also moving towards recognizing climate change as a critical security challenge that militaries have to deal with, but to a much lesser degree. India’s Joint Doctrine of the Indian Armed Forces (Headquarters 2017) released in 2017 is a case in point, but the military’s role in dealing with climate security challenges is not yet operationalized in any codified form. India’s case assumes further significance in the light of the differing positions; based on its developmental concerns, it has adopted in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) discussions on climate security. The creation of epistemic networks such as the IMCCC could be considered an act of enhancing the legitimacy of military actors through their representation as agents of climate action, directed at achievement and maintenance of security, peace and stability. Herein, the framing of climate change as a security threat or a ‘threat multiplier’ assumes significance, thereby attempting to raise the urgency of the issue and placing the military as a central actor in global climate governance through securitization of climate change. Another angle that is more prominent in developing countries such as India is the gradual movement towards mainstreaming climate change into military strategy based on the military’s perceptions of climate vulnerabilities as well as historically established concordance between civil and military actors on their respective roles. This can be termed as ‘climatization’. Whether it is impacts of climate change on the military or the military’s contribution to the national climate goals, climatizing moves are on the rise. For instance, the melting of Siachen glacier is reportedly forcing 1 The web link to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is: https://www. oecd.org/. ‘Climatizing’ military strategy? A case study of the Indian… the Indian military to change its strategy in the region. While ‘greening’ efforts have been underway for decades, there is now greater focus on integration of climate concerns into military strategy. Climatization is also being driven by increasing involvement of the Indian military in HADR, ‘in aid to civil authorities’. Nevertheless, the ‘threat multiplier’ narratives are largely restricted to the academic and grey literature, that too in a narrow sense, with a larger focus on nonmilitary measures. In this context, this paper analyses the Indian military’s engagement with climate issues—as a part of its security practices—using the framework of ‘climatization’. It enunciates the drivers, processes and characteristics of ‘climatization’ of military strategy within the Indian armed forces. In this study, climatization is classified into four broad types (as ‘climatizing’ moves akin to securitizing moves), based on the motivations of the actor and nature cum intensity of the process: symbolic (including soft climatization and/or greenwashing), strategic (climate bandwagoning for acquiring funds), precautionary (climate mainstreaming for preparation) and transformative (deep climatization in the form of engagement with mitigation and adaptatio (...truncated)