Disaggregated planetary governance: Implications for the nexus of climate change and international migration

Abstract

The nexus between climate change and migration has received increasing attention in recent years. Using a governmentality framework, this article analyses how global governance has conceptualised and addressed the relationship between these two phenomena. It will show that the planetary-level problem of climate-induced migration has been disaggregated into more manageable subsets slowly consolidating into a protection framework on the one hand and a resilience-focused development framework on the other. It argues that the selection of relevant causal processes and problem definitions is not an objective, neutral and technical question. While disaggregation has undoubtedly contributed to improved global governance in the issue area, it has also obscured the causal processes and responsibilities that can only be identified at the planetary level.