Climate change and refugee communities in Jordan: Critical reflections on neoliberal resilience-building

Abstract This article advances resilience theory by examining climate change responses and refugee experiences, and the perspectives of national, international, and refugee stakeholders in Jordan. Addressing climate change is crucial for all communities, particularly vulnerable groups like refugees and displaced persons, yet there are significant gaps in our understanding of how policies are made and implemented, and the performative roles refugees play. Thus, this paper: (1) analyses how different national and international stakeholders view policymaking that relates to refugees and their climate change adaptation and resilience-building needs in Jordan; (2) explores how refugees understand and experience climate change, and how they relate to policymaking and/or policy implementation processes; and (3) considers the extent to which the global tendency towards neoliberal resilience-building in refugee communities takes place in Jordan. We find that the Jordanian government considers refugees when formulating climate change responses. Conversely, international stakeholders adopt a nuanced, neoliberal approach aimed at fostering self-sufficient, resilient refugee agents who can adapt to climate change independently of state and international support. Finally, refugees residing in Jordan experience climate change through heightened vulnerability, insecurity, and exclusion from national response decision-making processes. We conclude that in the case of Jordan, it is ineffectual to adopt the neoliberal ethos underpinning ‘resilient’ refugees, and we call for further critique of the neoliberal resilience framework. Ultimately, we advocate for a post-neoliberal resilience model that recognizes the need for inclusion and integration between stakeholders at different levels to effectively address the climate change challenges faced by refugee communities.