Sentence:  The problem in the policy officer 's mind thus begins to take shape as a galaxy of utterly complicated factors - political , military , economic , financial , legal , legislative , procedural , administrative - to be sorted out and handled within a political system which moves by consent in relation to an external <WSD>environment</WSD> which cannot be under control . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  the totality of surrounding conditions