In the paper below (that was published last month in the journal Futures), I was particularly intrigued by the exploration of the question: "What if nations or terrorist groups turn to the use of weapons of mass destruction to achieve their objectives?"
This inquiry emerges as a direct implication of the research conducted by (Krieger & Meierrieks, 2019) an important source notably absent from the author's citations. Additionally, it reflects a fundamental instinct for self-defense in response to the aggressive impacts of climate change, predominantly attributed to affluent Western nations that top the list of per capita CO2 polluters. See the previous post titled "Do third world countries have the right to engage in retaliatory attacks against rich countries as an act of self-defense?" https://pacheco-torgal.blogspot.com/2019/12/are-third-world-countries-entitled-to.html
"Modern western civilization reached a pinnacle in the last half of the 20th century, spending over 200 years evolving and spreading throughout the world. A robust social contract, technological advancement and pervasive economic success in the context of democracy and capitalism propelled the project. Unfortunately, two underlying pillars of past success developed intensifying negative consequences, hastening socioeconomic decline: insatiable collective wants and global population growth. The rise and decline of civilizations in history is well documented, yet oddly ignored in today’s dialogue. Contemporary civilization is assumed to be immune from forces that shaped cycles of past civilizations—that our age is somehow an exception. For the first time in human history planetary systems that seemed invisible until recently are sending us the message that our civilization is not exceptional, that there are finite limits to the thrust of humanity’s present trajectory..."https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016328720300732#sec0025
