Logo for Climate Social Science Network (CSSN)

Scholars

Nikhil Deb

California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo

Based in

United States
North America

Nikhil Deb is Assistant Professor of Sociology at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. Prior to his current position, he held analogous roles at various institutions, including those in Bangladesh, his country of origin. His scholarly endeavors scrutinize the intricate interplay between political economic dynamics and environmental and climate justice. Specifically, he investigates how the transition to market liberalization in the global South has impacted environmental and social challenges in marginalized areas, focusing particularly on India and Bangladesh. His research In Bangladesh delves into the manipulation of climate-induced disasters to stimulate economic growth, often at the expense of local livelihoods and intricate ecosystems. He also conducted research on how the neoliberal turn in Indian governance played a crucial role in the production of many lingering consequences, evident in the 1984 Bhopal catastrophe in Bhopal, India.

Country(ies) of Specialty

Bangladesh India

Focus areas of expertise

Climate policy and politics Climate Justice Agriculture Social movements

How to Connect

Publications

Articles

Deb, Nikhil, Manjusha Nair, and Glenn Muschert, eds. 2023/forthcoming. “Handbook of Social Justice in the Global South.” Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar.

Deb, Nikhil. 2024. “Unyielding Humanity from Catastrophic Ruins: New Political Society for Social and Environmental Justice after Bhopal.” Environmental Sociology 10(1):118-134

Deb, Nikhil and Louise Seamster. 2023. “Socioenvironmental Injustice across the Global Divide: Slow Violence and Institutional Betrayal in Bhopal and Flint.” Sociology of Development.

Deb, Nikhil and Avijit Chakrabarty. 2023. “Green Potential in the Global South: The Phulbari Movement in Neoliberal Bangladesh.” In Green Crime in the Global South: Essays on Southern Green Criminology, edited by David Rodríguez Goyes. Palgrave

Deb, Nikhil. 2021.“Slow Violence and the Gas Peedit in Neoliberal India.” Social Problems. September 2021.

Deb, Nikhil. 2020. “Law and Corporate Malfeasance in Neoliberal India.” Critical Sociology 46(7-8): 1157–1171.

Deb, Nikhil. 2020. “Corporate Capitalism, Environmental Damage, and the Rule of Law: The Magurchara Gas Explosion in Bangladesh.” Pp. 367-381 in the Routledge International Handbook of Green Criminology, edited by Nigel South and Avi Brisman. London: Routledge.

Deb, Nikhil and Maya Rao. 2020. “The Pandemic and the Invisible Poor of the Global South: Slum Dwellers in Mumbai, India, and Dhaka, Bangladesh.” Pp. 51-60, in Social Problems in the Age of COVID-19: Global Perspectives, edited by Glenn Muschert, Kristen Budd, David Lane, and Jason Smith. Bristol, UK: Policy Press.

Deb, Nikhil. 2018. “The Fukushima Disaster and the Framing of Nuclear Energy in India.” Perspectives on Global Development and Technology 17(4): 473-495.