Climate Migration Governance and the Discourse of Citizenship in India

The book explores how governments in vulnerable regions respond to climate migrations, highlighting the use of rights-based frameworks but noting their ineffectiveness when sub-states contest the status of climate migrants as legitimate citizens. It also discusses the vulnerability of climate migrants who often lose their lands and political belonging.

Format: Hardback
Length: 163 pages
Publication date: 02 January 2023
Publisher: T.M.C. Asser Press

This comprehensive book delves into the intricate dynamics of how governments in vulnerable regions respond to climate migrations. The author makes a compelling argument that, despite the relatively recent emergence of this field, responding to hydro-meteorological disasters at the sub-state level has already established itself as an institutionalized practice. By utilizing the example of India and the State of Assam, the author showcases how existing rights-based frameworks are employed as guiding norms for governing climate migrations. However, it becomes evident that these normative frameworks lose their efficacy when sub-states simultaneously challenge the legitimacy of climate migrants as rightful citizens. In such cases, the responsibility shifts towards pity-making, and the state assumes the role of an empathetic observer, acknowledging the misfortune but refusing to take accountability for either the development or protection of those most severely impacted by climate change.

Those who migrate as a result of climate change often face the distressing loss of their lands due to erosion, further exacerbating their vulnerabilities. Moreover, they often find themselves stripped of their political affiliation within the society they have relocated to. This book serves as a valuable resource for scholars and researchers interested in studying climate migrations and disaster responses. By gaining a deeper understanding of how communities that are most severely affected by climatic disasters may lack the fundamental right to assert their rights against the very state they find themselves in, this volume contributes to a more nuanced understanding of the complex interplay between climate change, migration, and governance.

Ritumbra Manuvie holds a position of Senior Researcher and Lecturer of Law at the University of Groningen, located in the Netherlands. Prior to pursuing her doctoral studies at the University of Edinburgh, she conducted extensive research on migration, citizenship, and belonging in the State of Assam. Currently, she is actively involved in the ELSA - North Netherlands lab, which focuses on examining Ethical, Legal, and Socio-political factors that shape the utilization of AI in the healthcare sector.

Weight: 448g
Dimension: 235 x 155 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9789462655669
Edition number: 1st ed. 2023