Dear colleagues: I write to announce the publication of a new book: "Climate Change and Migration: Security and Borders in a Warming World" (Oxford University Press, 2011) -- http://www.oup.com/us/catalog/general/subject/Politics/InternationalStudies/?view=3Dusa&ci=3D9780199794836.
The book is at the intersection of three fields - environmental studies, security studies, and immigration studies - and challenges conventional policy notions about unauthorized migration to the North Atlantic region. It focuses especially on African emigration to Europe via North African "transit states" such as Morocco, Tunisia, and Libya, and casts a skeptical eye on Africa as a future source of climate-induced migration (CIM). (One chapter is devoted to the case of Morocco.) Drawing on natural science scholarship on the prospective impact of climate change on Africa, the book argues that CIM has been increasingly and unduly framed as a security concern by policymakers and security analysts. Securitizing CIM may be politically successful; it can play easily to electorates anxious about immigration and climate change. It can also further the diplomatic and strategic agendas of so-called "transit states." Yet the approach does not address more fundamental issues, such as the complicated relationship between climate change and migration. It also takes crucial energy and political capital away from efforts to mitigategreenhouse gas emissions, adapt to climate change, and pursue development strategies that have environmental concerns at their core. Best regards, Greg ----- Gregory White Department of Government Smith College Northampton, MA 01063 USA
