Global climate change as a national security threat: American and Russian political practices

Introduction. The article gives an overview of American and Russian approaches to global climate change (GCC) in the context of the national security policy. The purpose of the study is to improve the national security policy in the context of GCC using international and Russian experience. The authors make proposals for refining Russian approaches to the problem including adjustments to the Russian Federation National Security Strategy, development of a number of other strategic planning documents and new initiatives to tackle threats related to GCC on a broad multilateral basis. Methods and methodology. The system analysis methods used in the research enable to reveal general trends in the evolvement of the GCC phenomenon and to predict its growing influence on governments and civil societies. The synthesis methods help to draw general conclusions that are common for the national security policies of all nations, to reveal the complex and interdisciplinary nature of GCC and to propose improvements in the government policies in this area. Analysis. The analysis of American official documents and scientific publications shows the evolution of approaches in assessing the GCC in relation to national security policies, whereas the GCC has been regarded as a threat to U.S. and international security and stability. The authors criticize unilateralism of American official approaches to threats posed by GCC as well as the ineffectiveness of collective attempts to counter these threats. Results. The study concludes that the GCC poses a common threat to humanity and requires collective concerted actions. It is therefore proposed that the long-term national interests be adjusted adding to their list the task of preserving the nature and environment, to clarify the strategic goal-setting in this critical area and to develop a forward-looking model for cooperation between the government, civil society and wildlife.