Kiribati: self-determination in the climate-colonial nexus
Kiribati: self-determination in the climate-colonial nexus
Date
2023
Authors
Brimacombe, Elspeth
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Abstract
It is no coincidence that frequently the countries most vulnerable to climate change inundation are former
colonies. The Republic of Kiribati epitomises the climate-colonial nexus: a low-lying island state with
a history of British colonial exploitation exacerbating its present (and future) climate vulnerabilities. In
actively tracing the colonial power structures and recognising the existence of colonial legacies in the
present, the decolonisation of human rights becomes a precondition for an appropriate and just response
to climate change. Through connecting colonialism, climate change and human rights, this study focuses
on the decolonisation of the right to self-determination and its socio-spatial fulfilment. Using the example
of Kiribati, this timely study aims to initiate an intersectional approach to climate justice through
understanding climate vulnerability as connected to historical systems of oppression, and centralising the
self-determination of the climate(-colonial) vulnerable.
Description
Second semester University: Ca' Foscari University of Venice
Keywords
Kiribati,
postcolonialism,
colonialism,
climatic changes,
self-determination,
human rights