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The utility of postmodern thinking in climate adaptation research

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Abstract

Adaptation has assumed centre stage in current climate change discourse, yet there has been minimal attention to the explicit exploration of epistemological and ontological concerns in the area. This paper focuses on these critical dimensions by exploring the contributions of a postmodernist perspective to climate adaptation research and analysis. Based on the ideas of three leading postmodern thinkers, Jean-François Lyotard, Michel Foucault and Jacques Derrida, the paper presents postmodernism as an integrative research paradigm which acknowledges the complexity of the adaptation discourse by embracing the diversity of meanings and narratives around climate adaptation and the utilization of a plurality of methodologies and approaches in research with a potential to drive rigorous and contextually relevant climate adaptation research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. African Climate and Development Initiative, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa

    Admire M. Nyamwanza

  2. Department of Sociology, University of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe

    Sandra Bhatasara

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  1. Admire M. Nyamwanza
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  2. Sandra Bhatasara
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Correspondence to Admire M. Nyamwanza.

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Nyamwanza, A.M., Bhatasara, S. The utility of postmodern thinking in climate adaptation research. Environ Dev Sustain 17, 1183–1196 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-014-9599-5

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