What is the greatest threat to global peace and security? What constitutes a threat?

A threat to global peace and security represents any divisive issue that provokes an adverse reaction within the realm of inter-state conduct. This issue could plague the entire globe, such as climate change, or it could simply be a disagreement between two states, such as the he-said, she-said between the United States and Afghanistan regarding President Karzai's acceptance of Iranian "bags of money." (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/26/world/asia/26afghan.html_r=1&scp=1&sq=Karzai%20confirms%20that%20Iran%20gives%20bags%20of%20money&st=cse). For even when conflict begins by surfacing between two nations (in this case, the U.S. and Afghanistan), it inevitably encompasses secondary actors (Iran, NATO nations) by categorizing them as an ally of either primary actor.

While I do not believe that ideological threats are obsolete in today's world, the globalized nature of our planet supports the fact that human beings are rapidly becoming consumers first and citizens second. Ideology is consistently overshadowed by the insatiable need to protect access to natural resources and therefore, to perpetuate materialism. Global peace and security are now inherently fused with economic stability and growth, which is not possible without the constant accumulation and utilization of natural resources, especially for industrial and post-industrial nations. And, due to the effects of globalization, states throughout the global system are industrializing at a rapid rate, leading to a growing worldwide increase in personal wealth and consumerism. As Michael T. Klare, international security expert and the director of the Five College Program in Peace and World Security Studies at Hampshire College, states in his book Resource Wars, "Without a steady and reliable flow of essential materials, the American economy cannot expand and generate the products needed to ensure continued U.S. competitiveness in global markets...the United States must retain access to overseas supplies or its entire economy will face collapse." This is true of all states, not just current superpowers; we live in a world of escalating demand for resources of all types (namely oil, water, minerals, and timber), limited resources, and recurring, reinvented disagreements over who owns these resources. It has now become the socially acceptable and virtually required norm that states protect their claims to resources through military might. And while some may argue that this defensive strategy is merely for show, that actual violence will not be seen due to the liberal nature of global market forces ("the perceived economic benefits of compromise are generally much greater than the likely costs of war", Klare), national security is of the utmost importance when it comes to the preponderance of vital natural interests, i.e. access to natural resources. These so-called "resource wars" are the most threatening issue in the sphere of global peace and security, and they will only continue to be exacerbated as states compete for distinction and superiority within the globalized machine.