Solutions discourse in disaster displacement: implications for policy and practice

Abstract

Displacement in the context of disasters and climate change has gained considerable attention in international policy processes pertaining to migration and displacement over the past few years. However, analysis of currently dominant understandings of disaster displacement and its solutions at the global level, and how these translate into practice in relation to operational realities at the national level, remains scarce. This paper seeks to promote greater reflections on the discourse of displacement solutions in the context of disasters and climate change. It examines both the advancements and remaining gaps in approaches to disasters, displacement, and solutions and how these collectively shape the conceptualisation of solutions to disaster displacement. The inquiry sheds light on the dominant framings and their underlying assumptions and highlights the implications that they entail for understanding and responding to disaster displacement. It also underscores the importance of critical engagement with discursive practices at the international and national level.