Failing like a state: Preventive resettlements as climate change risk reduction and adaptation strategies, and the curious case of Belén.

Abstract

This thesis studies an on-going state-implemented climate-changed induced preventive resettlement process in the Peruvian Amazon, implemented as a risk reduction and adaptation strategy. The thesis examines the resettled population's experiences, and asks why the process was implemented in such a way that it left the resettled population worse off than before. The answers are sought in the ideas, practices and capacities of the Peruvian state. Resettlements are meant to move populations to enhance their quality of life, and the particular advantage of preventive resettlements is the possibility of planning ahead. However, these are complex and multi-dimensional processes that often exceed the state’s capacity to plan and execute, with potential disastrous impacts in the population whose lives they were meant to improve. Drawing from a multi-disciplinary perspective that includes state theories, postcolonial perspectives on development and security studies, the research aims at analyzing the process and impacts of the resettlement, and unveiling the reasons that explain the outcomes. The conclusions highlight the significance of state capacity, political power, adequate policy approaches, and recognition of cultural heritage, in the implementation of resettlement processes.