War and public health vulnerabilities: Understanding long-term consequences

National security decision-making relies upon assessments of state-level impacts, without regard for the public health impacts at home or abroad. Post-conflict assessments often take short-term perspectives on ‘collateral damage' to people and infrastructure, neglecting the ways in which conflict changes vulnerability patterns and exposes certain groups to increased, long-term risks. This research examines the long-term impact of national security activities in the Balkans, and the effects war has had upon environmental and public health. By focusing on impacts and environmental injustice in the Former Yugoslavia, lessons can be drawn for current conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan, and East Africa.