Anthropology as Diplomatic Participation

Abstract (English)

How can anthropologists help in confronting the challenges of climate change? In this paper we explore this question by considering the role of anthropologists in facilitating interactions between policymakers and local communities. One of the challenges of climate change as it is currently framed, is that it lends itself well to technocratic capture. Climate change frequently appears as an abstract and quantified material problem demanding measurable solutions. As such it lends itself well to policy contexts where climate change presents both a defined challenge to be tackled and a rationale for actions of particular kinds. However, often this framing of climate change also has the effect of silencing and excluding other preoccupations and concerns. In this talk we explore the role anthropologists might play as diplomats in this frictional climate politics. Building on Stengers’ use of the notion of the diplomat we explore how an anthropological commitment to taking seriously divergent knowledge and experience, might help inform novel, distinct and locally appropriate ways of engaging with climate change and its implications. Describing an attempt to do just this in our own work in the UK, we consider both the possibilities and the limits of such diplomatic participation.