Climate Mobilities. Redefining Statehood, Citizenship, and Refugeehood in times of climate crisis

Editors: Francesca Rosignoli, Eurac Research; Susana Borrás, Universitat Rovira i Virgili; Alexandra Tomaselli, Eurac Research; Federica Cittadino, Eurac Research

Recent literature has provided evidence that six of nine planetary boundaries have beentransgressed since 2015. Ocean acidification is also approaching its limit while severalregional climate tipping points have already been crossed. Although this datademonstrates that the resilience and stability of the Earth’s system are at high risk, statesand scholars have rarely advanced new categories or rethought existing ones to face newchallenges that the climate crisis will bring in the near future. Such new challengesinclude migration and displacement in the context of climate and environmental changes,climate exile, the sovereignty of disappearing lands, citizenship of stateless persons dueto climate change, and environmental and human health impacts due to biodiversity loss.Higher gender vulnerabilities linked with migration and displacement in the context ofclimate and environmental changes have also been rarely addressed by gender-sensitivepolicies.In this view, this Special Issue will fill this gap by examining the political, legal, andjudicial implications of the climate crisis.The main goal of this Special Issue is to collect recent developments and proposals toaddress the challenges posed by the climate crisis. Expected contributions will rangefrom ongoing initiatives to constitutional proposals and amendments, proposals’ drafts ofinternational treaties, relevant case-laws, and best practices collections at the subnationallevel, including local policies. Comparative studies of two or more countries are alsowelcomed. The call does not have a specific regional focus, so any contributionsworldwide are well received.The Special Issue strives to contribute innovative insights into how to equip futuredemocracies with legal, judicial, and policy instruments to cope with the spectrum ofuninhabitability. We are particularly interested in manuscripts discussing emerging (andcontested) categories (e.g. climate exiles, climate refugees, stateless persons due toclimate change) or providing novel interpretations of existing ones (e.g. sovereignty and
2statehood, citizenship, refugeehood, legal personhood) in light of a worsening climatechange. In addition, proposals dealing with the role of Courts in addressing the climatecrisis and its spillover effects on migration, international protection, human rights, andthe State’s constitutional and international obligations, inter alia, are highly valued.This Special Issue welcomes contributions from political science and law. Topics formanuscripts may include, but are not limited to, proposals that engage with the followingcategories in light of the challenges posed by climate change:-Sovereignty and Statehood-Citizenship-Refugeehood-Legal personhoodMore specifically, we are interested in manuscripts that address the main researchquestions of this call, namely-How can future democracies be equipped with legal, judicial and policy instruments tocope with the spectrum of inhabitability?-How can we rethink existing categories of sovereignty, citizenship, refugeehood, andlegal personhood in the face of the climate crisis and uninhabitability?-What role can courts play in tackling climate change? In particular, how can Courtsleverage human rights law, refugee law, migration law, climate change law to monitorand ensure State’s commitments enshrined therein? What are the main challenges thatlimit, or impinge, access to Courts in the context of climate change, and how could theybe solved?-How can we ensure that future policies address specific gender vulnerabilities inmigration and displacement in the context of climate and environmental changes?-How can we design legal, judicial and policy instruments that might protect the rights offuture generations?

Instructions for applicants:

Articles, written in English, should be submitted to the editors or to Francesca Rosignoli ([email protected]) according to the following schedule: (we shall adjust the deadlines to PaCo’s schedule)

- Submission of long abstracts (about 800 words): 15 June 2025

- Selection of long abstracts for articles: 13 July 2025

- Submission of articles: 15 November 2025

- Provision of peer review feedback: 15 March 2026

- Submission of revised drafts: 15 July 2026

- Publication of the issue: 15 November 2026

Long abstracts should include the following information:

(1) A description of the topic,

(2) How the paper addresses one or more of the nodal points of the SI,

(3) Empirical data and methodology,

(4) Findings.

The total length of your article must not exceed 10,000 words (and not less than 8.000). Note that the word total includes references, notes, tables, figures and diagrams.