Exploring the interconnection of sustainability and security in the Global South, a scoping study

The current rise in geopolitical tensions has heightened the need to understand the intricate relationship between sustainability and security, particularly in the context of the Global South. However, existing academic literature has paid limited attention to exploring this interconnection. This study aims to synthesize the existing knowledge on the nexus of sustainability and security in the Global South. To that end, a scoping study is conducted, where 930 articles are included and analyzed by thematic coding. Four key themes are identified: resource security as a goal to achieve sustainability (50% of articles), resource security in connection and because of a sustainability challenge (25%), critical and broader perspectives on development and security (20%), and resource security in relation to war, local conflict, and national security (5%). The analysis through a postcolonial lens reveals the problematic patterns in how resource security issues in the Global South are conceptualized and studied, the knowledge production and authority in defining what is sustainable, and the impacts of the uncritical romanticization of Indigenous knowledge and practices.