Law, Colonial-Capitalist Floods, and the Production of Injustices in Eastern India
Insights for Climate Adaptation
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4609934 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Birsha Ohdedar (0000-0002-7040-0697, SOAS University of London, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 13 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 264-285 |
| Publication date | 2024-07-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Transnational Environmental Law (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2047-1025 • E-ISSN: 2047-1033 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/s2047102524000074 |
| OpenAlex | W4396698049 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 14 |
Floods are not merely 'natural' disasters; rather, they emerge as socio-natural phenomena shaped by political, social, and economic processes. Law plays a pivotal role in producing and sustaining these processes and contributes to the creation of unjust environments. Drawing on political ecology and environmental history, this article analyzes the role of law and its interactions with colonialism and capitalism in the Damodar river valley in Eastern India. The Damodar river valley is an intensely engineered and hazardous region, a site of multiple interventions and developmental and ecological experiments for over a century. Colonial and post-colonial legacies have left a lasting imprint on legal, policy, and institutional frameworks, establishing a path-dependent trajectory for addressing future climate change adaptation challenges. While focusing on a specific case study, the article's approach and findings have broader significance, especially in the context of climate adaptation. The central argument underscores the need to understand the political and legal dimensions of flooding, and reinforces the need for a shift beyond incremental adjustments that do not tackle the underlying structures that produce the injustices associated with floods. It highlights the importance of 'transformative adaptation' approaches that address the root causes of climate-related disasters, such as restructuring power relations between actors, reconfiguring governance structures, and scrutinizing ideologies that mediate how water is used and distributed
Colonialism · Development economics · Economics · Environmental ethics · Political economy · Political science · Sociology · Agricultural risk and resilience · Hydropower, Displacement, Environmental Impact · Law · Philosophy · Psychology · Water Governance and Infrastructure
Policy without politics
Adaptation and transformation
Climate adaptation, vulnerability and rights-based litigation
Rethinking the role of law in adapting to climate change
Event, Process and Pulse
Reframing adaptation
Circulations and transformations of energy and water in Abu Dhabi’s hydrosocial cycle
Adaptation interventions and their effect on vulnerability in developing countries
Assembling the 2011 Thailand floods
Enhancing Resilience and Justice in Climate Adaptation Laws
| Unique citing works | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1,5 |
| Citation span | 2024 - 2026 (3) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |