Power Asymmetries, Migrant Agricultural Labour, and Adaptation Governance in Turkey: A Political Ecology of Double Exposures

This chapter presents a case study on labour-intensive agriculture to explore the importance of local power asymmetries as determinants of multiple and overlapping vulnerabilities. Understanding multiscalar, multidimensional vulnerabilities and mechanisms giving way to them beyond the biophysical and livelihood aspects are essential to address ‘more fundamental concerns that shape vulnerability’ in the context of adaptation governance. The chapter first presents the double exposure (DE) framework, which informs the analytical approach of this case study. It then introduces the reader to the case, a watermelon producing community in southern Turkey, and outlines the research methods used for the collection of empirical data. The chapter also shows the outcomes of DE upon political and economically the most marginalized community in the region, migrant seasonal agricultural workers. It provides an explanation of how the adaptive responses of landowners increase vulnerabilities and shift risks and costs to seasonal workers.