Description
This paper examines how the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (the Quad), aims to govern the Indo-Pacific, the 21st century’s global economic and strategic centre of gravity. It is motivated by a simple puzzle: is it possible to imagine an alternative justification for geopolitical order beyond the traditional invocation of the balance of power or the defence of liberal values? This puzzle becomes urgent when we consider the impact of climate change on the Indo-Pacific, which is predicted to be exceptionally hard-hit with enormous political, social, and economic implications. If present indicators are correct, then the effects of climate change will be a primary problem for Indo-Pacific countries, and, for many smaller states, an existential issue, far outweighing the relative merits of an American-or Chinese-led regional order. Currently, the Quad powers’ current governance efforts are largely focused around sustaining a military, diplomatic, and economic order supporting US leadership in the Indian and Pacific oceans, policed by advanced and overwhelming military force and pitted against the rise of a revisionist China. How does climate change fit within the objectives of the Quad powers’ national-security systems and how might these be reshaped to counter the deleterious effects of climate change in the Indo-Pacific?
