Multi-scalar Knowledge Brokers and the Labelling of Bangladesh’s Climate Change-induced Uprooted People

Abstract

This thesis examines why some key political-economic actors have replaced the knowledge of climate refugees with that of climate-induced displaced/migrants in the discussions of climate change in Bangladesh. Political-economic actors include state actors, non-state actors, international institutions and donors. This thesis finds that actors interpret climate change data in a way that best serves their political and economic interests. Interpretation of climate change data is subject to change because the actors revise their previous interpretation to serve new potential economic interests. Based on six-months of field research in Bangladesh, comprised of elite interviews and content analysis of relevant literature, this thesis argues that political-economic actors have replaced the concept of climate refugees with that of climate-induced displacement because it helps the actors develop a transnational network by which they can secure their following political and economic interests: (i) Western developed countries are exempted from giving compensation to climate change-induced uprooted people by arguing that the climate affected people should be self-responsible by being resilient or adaptive in facing climate-induced calamities, (ii) All the actors (in particular, the Western developed countries as donors and the World Bank) justify their prescribed adaptation/resilience projects as the best solution to the problems of climate change-induced uprooted people. (iii) Bangladesh receives funds, provided by the Western developed countries, to implement resilience projects. The projects facilitate the government of Bangladesh to demonstrate that they are diligent about the climate change-induced uprooted people and the projects are implemented to help the people. (iv) Local NGOs can secure the contracts of big-budgeted climate change adaptation/resilience projects. The transnational network is explained by Knowledge Network Theory— a combination of ‘knowledge’ analysis from the perspective of critical constructivism of IR/GPE and Political Ecology; Stone’s (2002) knowledge networks, and Finnemore and Sikkink (1998)’s transnational norm entrepreneurs.