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Paper short abstract:

This article provides a critical analysis of the climate migration narrative and discourse and applies it to the latest flooding in Pakistan. As a result it provides a critical analysis of forced displacement, mobility, and immobility, and climate displacement-related policies.

Paper long abstract:

Academic research, large international organization reports, and popular media discourse have been increasingly focusing on the presumed impact of climate related events on migration and displacement. The predominant narrative that emerges from this recent work is the one predicting movements of large numbers of people across national borders as a result of climate change. In this article we analyze the climate-migration narrative in three different areas: academic research and discourse, large multilateral organization reports, and media discourse. We then look at these narratives and their analysis in the context of the summer 2022 flooding events in Pakistan to understand what their impact is on policy and the most at risk populations themselves. Through this case study we provide critical analysis of definitions and understandings of forced displacement, mobility, immobility, border regimes, and climate-related displacement policies and their outcomes.