Climate Change Adaptation and Neoliberalism in Bangladesh: A Review of Two Monographs

The extraordinary attention paid to Bangladesh’s vulnerability to climate change is puzzling, especially when compared to other countries situated along the South Asian coastal littoral. Even the neighbouring Indian state of West Bengal and Myanmar receive far less alarmist reviews than Bangladesh, which is overwhelmingly singled out as the poster child of climate doom. It is as if climate change has picked a personal feud with the people of Bangladesh. Why is that so? Two recent books, one authored by Camelia Dewan and the other by Kasia Paprocki, should be read as directly addressing this discursive slant, by offering insightful research and compelling ethnography.

孟加拉国在气候变化脆弱性方面所受到的超乎寻常的关注令人费解，尤其是相较于南亚沿海沿岸的其他国家而言。即便与其毗邻的印度西孟加拉邦以及缅甸，相关危言耸听的舆论关注度也远不及孟加拉国——后者几乎被单方面挑出作为气候末日的标志性样本，仿佛气候变化专门与孟加拉国人民结下私怨一般。为何会出现此种情况？近期由卡米莉亚·德万（Camelia Dewan）与卡夏·帕普罗斯基（Kasia Paprocki）分别撰写的两部著作，凭借富有洞见的研究与极具说服力的民族志成果，可被视为直接回应了这一话语偏向。