Can the introduction of ‘sustainability necessary work’ promote security for all?

Junha Yang, Juneseo Hwang

The Ecological Citizen Vol 8 No 2 2025: 137–44 [epub-135]

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First published: 22 May 2025 | PERMANENT URL | DOWNLOAD CITATION IN RIS FORMAT

Abstract

'Environmental security' discourses and policies often justify extraordinary measures to confront pressing environmental changes perceived as threats to the survival of nation-states. Paradoxically, this increase coincides with a worsening ecological crisis, highlighted by scientific warnings about global climate change, habitat loss and other related environmental issues. This article critiques the orthodox state-centric framing of security, arguing that it perpetuates environmental violence against human communities and non-human beings. This framing places the military at the center of sustainability efforts, and while the military is tasked with protecting states, it has largely escaped accountability for its role in contributing to planetary degradation. As a way forward, this article explores the concept of 'sustainability necessary work' in contrast to the anthropocentric and militaristic notion of 'protection'. It proposes an ecocentric framing of security and repositions human agency in the ongoing efforts to save our planet.

Keywords

Demilitarization, Ecological economics, Ecological living, Sustainability

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