We are delighted to invite you to the first IR/PS Speakers' Corner of the semester on Monday, October 2 from 18.15-20.00 in S11 (The Fab), hosted by Astrid Skjold. The discussion topic for the evening is "From Floods to Flames: Unpacking Political Responsibility in a Climate-Disrupted World". 

 

 

Another summer marked by floods, fires, scorching heat, and storms has passed: Wildfires have burnt 426.000 hectares across Greece, Spain, and Portugal; 'Medicane' Daniel brought devastating floods to Libya, Greece, Turkey, and Bulgaria; Antarctica has reached record-breaking levels of heat; and South Sudan continues to experience simultaneous droughts and floods. These events are often no longer understood simply as disasters; they are 'climate disasters'. Join us for a discussion where we delve into the implications of the climate prefix for our understanding of political responsibility in the face of disasters. We will explore questions of responsibility, accountability, and the politics of addressing climate disasters. What sets them apart from 'non-climate disasters' and what are the political implications? How does the attribution of responsibility change when climate change is understood as a driving force behind disasters? Is invoking climate change simply a new political blame game? Who should be held accountable and to what extent? How should local, national, and international institutions adapt their policies and priorities in the face of increasingly intense and frequent extreme weather? What is the role of the media in shaping public perception and political responses to climate disasters?