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Paper short abstract:

Malawi is an aid-dependent country that is heavily impacted by climate change and climate change-induced disasters. In this paper I argue that preparing for the next emergency should start by critically examining the power relations that shape disaster relief interventions and anticipatory action.

(long abstract not shown):

Malawi is a country that is heavily impacted by climate change. Considered one of the poorest countries in the world, the large majority of its rapidly growing population relies on subsistence agriculture to survive. Significant changes in weather patterns combined with the increased occurrence of climate change-induced disasters, however, has made this extremely difficult. Visible in yearly food insecurity issues, both the aid-dependent Malawi state and its donors are acutely aware of the need to address the impacts of climate change in a sustainable manner. The Malawi Department for Disaster Management Affairs (DODMA), however, relies on donors and the wider international and humanitarian community for funding for most of its activities. Collaborations between the Malawi state and donors thus take place in a context of profound dependency, which shapes disaster relief interventions in different ways at different governance levels. Based on one year of ethnographic fieldwork with DODMA civil servants in a disaster-prone district in southern Malawi, I argue that preparing for the next emergency should start by critically examining the power relations that shape collaborations, anticipation and thus preparedness. Anticipating potential differences in priorities and a willingness to collaborate across difference, form a crucial part of both mitigation and prevention efforts for the next emergency.