Project Leader from SIAS: Dil Khatri, PhD
Project Partners and Collaborators: Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU)- Sweden, University of Minnesota Twin Cities- USA, Indian School of Business (ISB)- India.
Funded by: Swedish Research Council (VR)
Duration: July 2019 to December 2023
Project Description:
This project develops the concept of self-organized adaptation to explore how democratic political systems— comprised of multiple actors, institutions, and forms of state support—shape local responses to climate risk and change. We ask: What is the role of democratic politics in enabling vulnerable groups to confront climate challenges — and what characteristics of a democratic political system generate more effective and equitable state support? Through intensive data collection in 4 different sites from Nepal and Indian Himalaya, we study: (1) the portfolios of climate risks that different households face; (2) the political channels through which citizens seek support for climate threats; (3) the networks of interaction through which state responses are developed; and (4) the recursive effects of these responses on households’ experience of climate risk. By combining intensive qualitative enquiry with quantitative analysis, our empirical approach aims to map networks of interaction through which climate responses are developed and implemented on the ground—providing a direct look at how adaptation happens through the political channels that enable it. In so doing, this project charts new terrain for theorizing the subnational governance systems that are able to channel local political agency toward more effective and democratic climate responses.
Project Sites: Ramechhap and Kavre districts in Nepal, Himanchal Pradesh in India
Project Team at SIAS: Dil Khatri, PhD, Kamal Devkota and Parbati Pandey
