1. Typhoon disaster politics in pre-1945 Asia: three case studies.
- Author
-
van Klinken, Gerry
- Subjects
TYPHOONS ,SOCIAL impact ,DISASTERS ,POWER (Social sciences) ,CASE studies - Abstract
Purpose: This paper focuses on the adaptations societies make to climate-related disasters. How they learnt from them in the past should indicate how they will respond in the more climate-stressed future. National typhoon disaster politics arise when citizens demand disaster protection from their state. Design/methodology/approach: The paper analyzes one episode of typhoon politics in each of three Asian countries before 1945: the Philippines (1928), India (1942) and Japan (1934). These three countries show high variance in state capacity and level of democracy. Discourse data are found in contemporary newspaper accounts. Findings: In each case, the typhoon disaster politics were shaped by the "distance" (geographical, institutional, class and cultural) between citizen-victims and the state. Where that distance was great (rural Philippines, Bengal-India), the state tended to minimise victimhood. Where it was small (urban Japan), adaptation was serious and rapid. Social implications: The findings should stimulate public discussion of the way in which past social relations and power dynamics surrounding climate-related disasters might influence the present. As the political character of climate change adaptation grows clearer, so does the need for debate to be well-informed. Originality/value: Most historical work on climate-related disasters has focused either on the natural phenomena, or on their societal impact. The present paper's focus on adaptation is part of a small but growing scholarly effort to bend the debate towards the evolution of adaptive capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2021
- Full Text
- View/download PDF