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The Democratic Securitization of Climate Change in India
Author(s) -
Sahu Anjan Kumar
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
asian politics and policy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.193
H-Index - 12
eISSN - 1943-0787
pISSN - 1943-0779
DOI - 10.1111/aspp.12481
Subject(s) - securitization , elite , democracy , climate change , negotiation , political economy , political science , politics , development economics , sociology , economics , law , finance , ecology , biology
The concept of democratic securitization is an attempt to revise the theory of securitization. The theory has been widely criticized due to securitization theorists' predilection for undemocratic, elite‐driven, and illegal methods for addressing urgent threats. Such methods rely on the survival of an “issue,” including climate change. Discourses of threat and elite‐driven climate change policy are the accepted norms in the Indian political establishment, but such undemocratic processes and the exclusion of certain stakeholders in the policy processes are not appropriate for a democratic country like India. The alternative concept of democratic securitization of climate change policy seeks primarily to expand the concept of “audience” in the negotiation process in the climate change discourse in India. It also demonstrates how democratic engagement and the sharing of climate change knowledge can provide valuable insights into climate policy.