Jan Selby on 'An International Political Ecology of Climate Change, Water and Security'

This seminar will be given by Professor Jan Selby (Professor of International Politics and Climate Change, University of Leeds). Professor Selby will be giving an account of his recently published, co-authored book Divided Environments: An International Political Ecology of Climate Change, Water and Security (Cambridge University Press, 2022; co-authors G. Daoust and C. Hoffman). The book is an empirical study debunking the idea that climate change is a driver of social and political outcomes (e.g., violence, migration) in the MENA region, specifically Israel-Palestine, Syria, Cyprus, Sudan-South Sudan and Chad. This is the first ever use of ‘international political ecology’ for challenging the conventional, if all too fraught, assumptions linking climate change, water and violence. The seminar will be of interest to colleagues across the Geographies of Life and Politics-State-Space research clusters and to anyone with an interest in the political geography and ecology of climate change. The talk will be followed by, ideally, interventions from a discussant(s), and a Q&A. Tea/Coffee from 2pm.