Law, Property and Disasters

Analysing the challenges posed by natural disasters and the mass movement of people, this book demonstrates how state-centred property law is ill-adapted to circumstances of mass human mobility.

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This book re-considers property law for a future of environmental disruption.

As slogans such as “build the wall” or “stop the boats” affect public policy, there are counter-questions as to whether positivist or statist notions of property are fit for purpose in a time of human mobility and environmental disruption. State-centric property laws construct legal fictions of sovereign control over land, notwithstanding the persistent reality of informal settlements in many parts of the Global South. In a world affected by catastrophic disasters, this book develops a vision of adaptive governance for property in land based on a critical re-assessment of state-centric property law.

This book will appeal to a broad readership with interests in legal theory, property law, adaptive governance, international development, refugee studies, postcolonial studies, and natural disasters.