Universität zu Köln

Weisser, Florian, Bollig, Michael, Doevenspeck, Martin and Mueller-Mahn, Detlef (2014). Translating the 'adaptation to climate change' paradigm: the politics of a travelling idea in Africa. Geogr. J., 180 (2). S. 111 - 120. HOBOKEN: WILEY. ISSN 1475-4959

Full text not available from this repository.

Abstract

In the past few years, adaptation to climate change has emerged as a dominant new theme in development politics, to an extent that it can almost be considered as a new development paradigm. Yet, this new paradigm and its effects are not unproblematic, as the empirical research in three East African countries presented in this article indicates. The article argues that the current transformation of environmental governance reflects not only climate change as such, but also - and perhaps even more so - the discourse of a changing climate and its effect on development politics. The empirical evidence shows that African farmers, politicians and government officials often respond to the new 'adaptation paradigm' more readily than to directly felt phenomena caused by a changing climate. We therefore argue that the ontology of the concept of adaptation to climate change needs to be readjusted. Epistemologically, our concern is to trace the discourse of adaptation to climate change across multiple sites, i.e. how it 'travels' between global epistemic communities and adaptation projects in developing countries. Drawing on actor-network theory and its concept of translation, we provide an alternative view of adaptation to climate change by highlighting the contested and multi-sited narratives and practices that bring adaptation into being.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID ORCID Put Code Weisser, Florian UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Bollig, Michael UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Doevenspeck, Martin UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Mueller-Mahn, Detlef UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED
URN:	urn:nbn:de:hbz:38-437684
DOI:	10.1111/geoj.12037
Journal or Publication Title:	Geogr. J.
Volume:	180
Number:	2
Page Range:	S. 111 - 120
Date:	2014
Publisher:	WILEY
Place of Publication:	HOBOKEN
ISSN:	1475-4959
Language:	English
Faculty:	Unspecified
Divisions:	Unspecified
Subjects:	no entry
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Keywords Language ASSEMBLAGE Multiple languages Geography Multiple languages
URI:	http://kups.ub.uni-koeln.de/id/eprint/43768