Kayly Ober

Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, Geography, Research Associate - PhD candidate

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I am a policy analyst and researcher with over eight years of professional experience on issues relating to climate change, adaptation, migration, gender, human security, and governance. I'm currently a research associate/PhD candidate at Uni Bonn, where I work on the Translocal Resilience Project - Environment, Migration, Resilience (TransRe). I've previously worked at the World Bank, Overseas Development Institute, Woodrow Wilson Center, and World Resources Institute, among others. My regional focus is Latin America and the Caribbean as well Southeast Asia.

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Giovanni Bettini

Lancaster University

Giovanna Gioli

Bath Spa University

Romain Felli

University of Lausanne

Luise Porst

Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn

Simon A . Bunchuay-Peth

University of Innsbruck

Till Rockenbauch

Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn

Assoc Prof Sonja Ayeb-Karlsson

Nina Hall

Johns Hopkins University SAIS

Antoine Pécoud

Université Sorbonne Paris Nord / Sorbonne Paris Nord University

Michelle Meyer

Texas A&M University

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Papers by Kayly Ober

How do social practices shape policy? Analysing the field of 'migration as adaptation' with Bourdieu's 'Theory of Practice'

by Patrick Sakdapolrak and Kayly Ober

In recent decades, there has been a shift in the climate-migration discourse: from one preoccupie... more In recent decades, there has been a shift in the climate-migration discourse: from one preoccupied with 'climate refugees' to one of 'migration as adaptation'. Academics and policy-makers alike see migration as a way to generate income, diversify livelihoods, and spread risk in the face of climate change. Past literature has found that policy prescriptions at this nexus may play into existing politics and framings, especially in the struggle for funding or in the age of the ever-present neoliberal agenda. This paper makes the case that perhaps the machinations behind policy recommendations need not appear to be sinister. While higher-level structural considerations should be taken into account and doubtless undergird the trajectory of policy-making, organisations often follow existing pathways neither because of empirical evidence nor with malicious intent, but rather because it is part and parcel of existing practices of positioning themselves within the system and playing the rules of the game. In fact, everyday and seemingly mundane practices can accumulate and 'hang together' to shape and determine policy outcomes. This happens in a variety of ways in the field of 'migration as adaptation', but in its most explicit form can be unveiled in the organisational practices of writing publications and participating in conferences and working groups, for example. By using a practice-oriented approach, with Bourdieu's 'Theory of Practice' as a guide, this paper provides an understanding of the logic and practices of the migration-as-adaptation policy sphere and the limited policy prescriptions related to it as well as suggests sites at which to target interventions for more radical policy imaginings.

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How do social practices shape policy? Analysing the field of ‘migration as adaptation’ with Bourdieu's ‘Theory of Practice’

In recent decades, there has been a shift in the climate‐migration discourse: from one preoccupie... more In recent decades, there has been a shift in the climate‐migration discourse: from one preoccupied with ‘climate refugees’ to one of ‘migration as adaptation’. Academics and policy‐makers alike see migration as a way to generate income, diversify livelihoods, and spread risk in the face of climate change. Past literature has found that policy prescriptions at this nexus may play into existing politics and framings, especially in the struggle for funding or in the age of the ever‐present neoliberal agenda. This paper makes the case that perhaps the machinations behind policy recommendations need not appear to be sinister. While higher‐level structural considerations should be taken into account and doubtless undergird the trajectory of policy‐making, organisations often follow existing pathways neither because of empirical evidence nor with malicious intent, but rather because it is part and parcel of existing practices of positioning themselves within the system and playing the rules of the game. In fact, every‐day and seemingly mundane practices can accumulate and ‘hang together’ to shape and determine policy outcomes. This happens in a variety of ways in the field of ‘migration as adaptation’, but in its most explicit form can be unveiled in the organisational practices of writing publications and participating in conferences and working groups, for example. By using a practice‐oriented approach, with Bourdieu's ‘Theory of Practice’ as a guide, this paper provides an understanding of the logic and practices of the migration‐as‐adaptation policy sphere and the limited policy prescriptions related to it as well as suggests sites at which to target interventions for more radical policy imaginings.

Migration for Human Security? The Contribution of Translocality to Social Resilience

by Harald Sterly, Kayly Ober, and Patrick Sakdapolrak

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Migration in a changing climate. Towards a translocal social resilience approach

by Kayly Ober, Simon A . Bunchuay-Peth, Luise Porst, and Till Rockenbauch

Climate change and migration are drawing increasing interest from researchers and policy makers a... more Climate change and migration are drawing increasing interest from researchers and policy makers as well as from the general public. While in the beginning a simplistic and geo-deterministic comprehension of the environmental impact on human mobility had dominated the discussion, the framing of the relationship has recently become more differentiated. Vast empirical evidence derived from rural livelihoods research clearly shows that migration is an important strategy of households when dealing with multiple risks, including environmental stress. This has led to the growing acknowledgement of the idea of " migration as adaptation " in migration-environment research. We consider this conceptual development an important step for a better understanding of this nexus. Nonetheless, migration as adaptation has several shortcomings. Firstly, it is narrowly focused on migration as an adaptive response to environmental risks and neglects the significant impact of other forms of migration. Secondly, it does not cover other dimensions of how people, communities and societies deal with environmental change: a blind eye is all too often turned to processes of resilience building. Thirdly, migration as adaptation has been found to be interpreted in a way which justifies migration policies with neo-liberal tendencies. In order to overcome such drawbacks, we propose an approach that integrates translocality and social resilience. In this paper we thus introduce the concept of translocal social resilience and reflect on its conceptual implications. We will thereby show how this approach can improve the understanding of the migration-environment nexus, and how it can also shape the concept of migration as adaptation , allowing for nuanced and critical views on the dynamics in the migration-environment context.

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The links between climate change and migration

by Kayly Ober and Patrick Sakdapolrak

The relationship between climate change and migration is much more subtle and complex than 'click... more

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How the IPCC views migration

The recent IPCC assessment report of Working Group II (AR5 WGII) gives a thorough, balanced, and ... more The recent IPCC assessment report of Working Group II (AR5 WGII) gives a thorough, balanced, and nuanced picture of the impacts of climate change on human social dimensions. However, its view on migration is a bit more varied. This fact sheet highlights three different groups of thought that come up throughout the IPCC report. These include viewing migration as: 1) negative/maladaptive; 2) adaptation; and 3) a possible research subject for the future.

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