The Hiding Behind the Poor debate: a synthetic overview

Chakravarty, Shoibal; Ramana, M.V.

doi:10.4324/9780203153284.ch16

Cited by 8 publications

(9 citation statements)

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“…The powering actions implement adaptation plans that focus on "outcome vulnerability," as opposed to causal structures, and too generic to respond to local variations in vulnerability. These discourses reflect a powering approach of hiding behind the poor, also used by national-scale policymakers to gain power during international negotiations (Chakravarty and Ramana 2012). This powering move reinforces the legitimacy and authority of state actors via dominant discourses that perpetuate "common sense" yet apolitical narratives of vulnerability, simultaneously silencing alternative vulnerability discourses that root causality within the political economy (see Rose 2001;Lukes 2005).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The unprecedented monsoon flooding of 2017 and subsequent deaths of largely poor and rural people (Safi 2017) are tragic examples of adaptation policy that failed to adequately puzzle over the social and political causes of climate vulnerability (Taylor 2015;O'Keefe et al 1976;Watts 1983;Watts and Bohle 1993). India's increasing importance in international-scale climate negotiations already includes political discourses around vulnerability that are pro-poor (Jaeger and Michaelowa 2016;Chakravarty and Ramana 2012). Working towards climate justice within India necessitates puzzling over adaptation at the national and sub-national scales that include clearly articulated pro-poor schemes (Dubash 2012) to improve access to entitlements and processes that enshrine empowerment for vulnerable populations.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Powering and puzzling: climate change adaptation policies in Bangladesh and India

Stock

Vij

Ishtiaque

2020

Environ Dev Sustain

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South Asia is a region uniquely vulnerable to climate-related impacts. Climate change adaptation in India and Bangladesh evolves using powering and puzzling approaches by policy actors. We seek to answer the question: how do powering and puzzling approaches influence the climate change adaptation policy design and implementation processes in Bangladesh and India? We adopted two strategies to collect and analyze data: semistructured interviews and discourse analysis. We found that adaptation policymaking is largely top-down, amenable to techno-managerial solutions, and not inclusive of marginalized actors. In Bangladesh, power interplays among ministerial agencies impair the policy implementation process and undermine the success of puzzling. Local-scale agencies do not have enough authority or power to influence the overall implementation processes occurring at higher scales of governance. The powering of different actors in Bangladesh is visible through a duality of mandates and a lack of integration of climate adaptation strategies in different government ministries. The powering aspect of India's various adaptation policies is the lack of collective puzzling around the question of differentiated vulnerability by axes of social difference. Paradoxically, India has a puzzling approach of hiding behind the poor in international negotiations. Moving forward, both countries should strive to have more inclusive and equitable adaptation policymaking processes that enable the participation of marginalized populations and represent their anxieties and aspirations. Identifying policy-relevant insights from South Asia using the powering and puzzling approaches can foster adaptation policy processes that facilitate empowerment, the missing piece of the adaptation policymaking puzzle.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Powering and puzzling: climate change adaptation policies in Bangladesh and India

Stock

Vij

Ishtiaque

2020

Environ Dev Sustain

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“…For example, the importance of intracountry equity was also the basis of a critique of India's carbon budget allocation proposal, which was issued as part of a joint publication by the BASIC group of countries (14). The debate was rife with methodological issues, such as the accuracy of the data on Indian consumption and alternative ways of estimating the relationship between consumption and emissions (15). However, the larger political question, on the salience of internal distributive questions to climate politics, had been made firmly.…”

Section: Figurementioning

confidence: 99%

India and Climate Change: Evolving Ideas and Increasing Policy Engagement

Dubash

Khosla

Kelkar³

et al. 2018

Annu. Rev. Environ. Resour.

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India is a significant player in climate policy and politics. It has been vocal in international climate negotiations, but its role in these negotiations has changed over time. In an interactive relationship between domestic policy and international positions, India has increasingly become a testing ground for policies that internalize climate considerations into development. This article critically reviews the arc of climate policy and politics in India over time. It begins by examining changes in knowledge and ideas around climate change in India, particularly in the areas of ethics, climate impacts, India's energy transition, linkages with sustainability, and sequestration. The next section examines changes in politics, policy, and governance at both international and national scales. The article argues that shifts in ideas and knowledge of impacts, costs, and benefits of climate action and shifts in the global context are reflected and refracted through discourses in India's domestic and international policies.

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“…Like China, India is a strong supporter of 'common but differentiated responsibilities', insisting that its economic ambitions must not be held back by commitments to reduce emissions -in view of its large numbers of poor people. While Indian elites have faced criticism that they are hiding behind the poor (Chakravarty and Ramana 2011), the prevailing view is that the main responsibility for climate action lies with rich countries. But this does not mean that the elites take no account of climate issues.…”

Section: Indiamentioning

confidence: 99%

Who drives climate-relevant policies in the rising powers?

Schmitz

2016

New Political Economy

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The Hiding Behind the Poor debate: a synthetic overview

Cited by 8 publications

References 0 publications

Powering and puzzling: climate change adaptation policies in Bangladesh and India

Powering and puzzling: climate change adaptation policies in Bangladesh and India

India and Climate Change: Evolving Ideas and Increasing Policy Engagement

Who drives climate-relevant policies in the rising powers?

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