Climate Change and Migration: Security and Borders in a Warming World

by Gregory White

Overview

In the modern era, two types of international migration have consumed our attention: politically induced migration to flee war, genocide, and instability, and migration for economic reasons. Recently, though, another force has generated a new wave of refugees-global warming. Climate change has altered terrains and economies throughout the tropical regions of the world, from sub-Saharan Africa to Central America to South and Southeast Asia. In Climate Change and Migration, Greg White provides a rich account of the phenomenon. Focusing on climate-induced migration from Africa to Europe, White shows how global warming's impact on international relations has been significant, enhancing the security regimes in not only the advanced economies of the North Atlantic, but in the states that serve as transit points between the most advanced and most desperate nations. Furthermore, he demonstrates that climate change has altered the way the nations involved view their own sovereignty, as tightening or defining borders in both Europe and North Africa leads to an increase of the state's reaches over society. White closes by arguing that a serious and comprehensive program to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change is the only long-term solution. With an in-depth coverage of both environmental and border policy from a global perspective, Climate Change and Migration provides a provocative and much-needed link between two of the most pressing issues in contemporary international politics.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780199794836
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	10/12/2011
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	200
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Gregory White is Professor of Government at Smith College.

Table of Contents

Introduction
1. Climate-Induced Migration: an Essentially Contested Concept
2. Scope and Dimensions: Sahelian and sub-Saharan African Migration to Europe
3. The "Securitization" of Climate-Induced Migration
4. Transit States and the Thickening of Borders
5. Pulling Back the Curtain on the Security Oz: Multilateral Governance and Genuine Sustainability in a Warming World

Editorial Reviews

"In this new perspective on how global warming will impact international relations across every continent, Gregory White, a professor of government, looks at climate-induced migration from the tropical regions of the world. Focusing on refugees fleeing Africa for Europe, White describes the enhanced security regimes that have been introduced in the rich North Atlantic countries, and the states that serve as transit points for migrants. The book highlights the wider implications of climate change on national sovereignty, which, in many cases, leads to the state increasing its influence over society."—NATURE CLIMATE CHANGE

"White's book is packed with informative discussions of the ways in which concern about climate-induced migration has impacted on the North Atlantic industrialised nations and their relations with their near neighbours. He advances an argument, but not without carefully exploring the positions that he finally cautions against. I appreciated the thoroughness of those explorations, which made his conclusions all the more telling." — Bryan Walker

"...on-target and highly readable...." — Global Environmental Politics

From the Publisher