Journal
GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE-HUMAN AND POLICY DIMENSIONS
Volume 18, Issue 1, Pages 99-111Publisher
ELSEVIER SCI LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2007.05.003
Keywords
vulnerability; adaptation; climate change
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We review five perspectives on human vulnerability to environmental change-biophysical, human ecological, political economy, constructivist and political ecology-and assess their respective strengths and weaknesses. While each of these perspectives offers important insights, and some theoretical convergence is evident, the field remains divided along a number theoretical fracture lines. Two deeply rooted metatheoretical assumptions-essentialism and nominalism-are hindering the construction of a more. integrated perspective on vulnerability, one capable of addressing the interrelated dynamics of social structure, human agency and the environment. We conclude by suggesting that an evolutionary perspective on social change, grounded in a critical realist epistemology, provides the best prospect for avoiding the above pitfalls and advancing our understanding of vulnerability. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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