Global environmental change, technological diffusion, economic globalization and the spread of democracy have dramatically transformed the global landscape, creating new threats to human welfare and security along with new opportunities for human development and well-being.

While the incidence of interstate war has declined dramatically, unconventional threats have moved up the agenda, such as unprecedented water stress, climate change, pandemic disease, cybercrime and complex disasters. At the same time, remarkable opportunities have emerged for new, transformative forms of research, innovation and engagement that can promote sustainability, build peace, alleviate poverty and advance public health.

The Center for Unconventional Security Affairs (CUSA) was established in 2003 at the University of California, Irvine. Its Unconventional Security Research Group studies and develops solutions to unconventional security challenges related to environmental degradation and climate change. Its Transformational Media Lab explores the role of information and communication technology in addressing environmental and human security challenges of the 21st Century. CUSA’s eARTh Studio provides a platform for artists who create art informed by these issues.

CUSA also focuses on supporting leaders in the business, government and non-profit communities who are trying to address environmental and other global challenges, and on educating the next generation of leaders by integrating students into all aspects of the Center’s research and engagement activities.