Climate change, the politics of anticipation and future riskscapes in Africa

Abstract

Abstract The authors review two conceptual frameworks of risk management and apply them to the context of climate change in Africa, based on case studies in Côte d′Ivoire and Ethiopia. Politics of anticipation refers to a type of policy-making that uses scientific forecasts to manage future risks. Riskscapes, by contrast, are temporalspatial phenomena, which highlight perception, discourse and practice in relation to multiple risks and uncertainties. In view of the heterogeneity of the African continent, the article cautions against an uncritical use of anticipatory politics and argues for expanding the understanding of complex riskscapes in relation to the future.