Bio-politics of climate change governance

Bio-politics of climate change governance –the Australian narrative (Completed)

Abstract

The central research question of this dissertation is how can a bio-political and historico-materialistic framework help define the specific features of climate crisis and its governance? Adopting a theoretical assemblage of Foucault’s governmentality supplemented with Marxist conception of primitive accumulation, the main objective of this thesis is to trace a genealogy of climate change governance in Australia in order to unravel different modalities and configurations of relationship between climate and capital creating socio-ecological links in neoliberal environmental governance. This project critically engages with climate policies of successive government in Australia from the 1980–2008, as a trajectory that connects the discourses of sustainable development of 1980’s to green economy concepts popularized during the course of 2000.

Meet the researcher – Nandita Das

Qualifications: MPhil in Social Systems (JNU, India), MSW (TISS, Mumbai, India) 

Noontide Climate governance

Currently associated with UNSW ( Environmental Humanities) as course convenor in Masters course on Environment and Development. Prior to this, Nandita worked as Casual Academic at UTS and WSU. Her research focus is on politics of environmental governance with the specific emphasis on the history of Australian Climate Policy. Before her PhD, she was a development professional in India, for over a decade, working with government and non-government organisations including The Energy and Resource Institute (TERI), BBC Media Action and Ministry of Rural Development on issues such as Natural Resource Management in the Himalayas, Urban Infrastructure Development and Environment in Kolkata, Poverty Alleviation in rural and urban areas and HIV/AIDS. I love music, books, and travel.

Email: nandita.das@uts.edu.au 
Supervisor: Associate Professor James Goodman

Acknowledgement of Country

UTS acknowledges the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, the Boorooberongal people of the Dharug Nation, the Bidiagal people and the Gamaygal people, upon whose ancestral lands our university stands. We would also like to pay respect to the Elders both past and present, acknowledging them as the traditional custodians of knowledge for these lands.