India’s Climate Change Policy and the Securitisation of Development (Routledge Studies on Think Asia)

This important volume uses securitisation theory to critically evaluate India’s climate change policy, scrutinising the normative and non-normative features of the theory and suggesting the introduction of open impartiality as a corrective lens to address the theory’s ethical deficits.

The book demonstrates India’s understanding of climate change as a threat to the economic development of the country (in addition to the threats posed by the environmental policies of developed countries). In doing so, the book contends that India’s political leaders have successfully employed these twin threats to successfully securitise the economic development of India. The book uses India as a compelling case study to novelly integrate open impartiality within securitisation theory; chapters map out the normative rationale of India in securitising economic development within its climate discourse, and applies discourse analysis to speeches, negotiation statements and policy documents from Indian leaders and institutions.

Ultimately exploring how best to integrate justice issues within security studies―and more specifically climate justice in climate security discourses―the book will therefore be of interest to scholars and researchers in the fields of international relations, security studies, and environmental politics. Those specifically studying India’s national security discourses will also benefit from the book.

Anjan Kumar Sahu is Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science, University of Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India. He received his MA from Utkal University, Odisha; MPhil from South Asian Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi; and PhD from the Department of Political Science, University of Delhi, Delhi, India. His research mainly focuses on climate change and security studies, especially the theory of securitisation. His research has been published in Cambridge Review of International Affairs, International Politics, Asian Politics & Policy, China Report and Earth System Governance.