Climate change beyond technocracy: citizenship and drought practices in the Indian Himalayas

Climate knowledge production and climate change adaptation are dominated by technocratic narratives. Where climate change intersects with institutional structures outside contexts of formal interventions, these narratives also have crucial implications for the recognition of climate change-affected citizens. This article focuses on the experience of farmers in the Indian Himalayas who are seeking support from the state following a climate change-induced drought. We suggest that the narrow technocratic framework produces climate vulnerability by preventing Himalayan farmers from accessing relevant drought support. The recognition of climate change-affected citizens, we maintain, is a question of climate justice and requires consideration for alternative methodologies and different epistemologies about climate change.