This chapter provides a detailed overview of the broad theoretical framework developed for the book. It begins by reviewing the extensive literature on climate change policy adoption and argues that existing theories have been overly focused on mitigation policies in the Global North. It details the broad-based analytical framework which guides the case study analysis and which incorporates considerations of: (a) countries’ vulnerability to climate change impacts; (b) international engagement on the issue of loss and damage; (c) national institutional factors; and (d) the role of ideas, including knowledge and norms. The chapter delves into each element of the framework and discusses the limitations of the research design. It then turns to describing the book’s abductive and iterative methodological approach, which moves between existing theoretical propositions and data gathered through the analysis of law and policy documents and more than seventy-five interviews with national stakeholders across the case studies. The chapter concludes by highlighting the epistemic value of the book’s approach, which has involved partnering with researchers in the Global South to co-develop, undertake, and write up the research.

Advancing the emerging field of comparative climate governance and policymaking, this book explores national loss and damage policymaking through seven empirically grounded studies of loss and damage governance across vulnerable countries in the Global South. The introductory chapter sets the scene by presenting the key themes, research questions, and contributions of the book. Following an introduction to the concept of loss and damage from climate change impacts and its emergence at the international level, the chapter argues for a political science of loss and damage that is sensitive to the “national turn” in research on loss and damage governance. The chapter then presents the seven country case studies featured in the book including Small Island Developing States, least developed countries, and emerging economies: Tuvalu, Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Ethiopia, Bangladesh, Peru, and Chile. The case studies show variation in the way countries engage with loss and damage, highlighting the importance of national contexts in understanding the success and/or failure of policymaking. The chapter concludes with a summary of key themes and findings emerging from the case studies and discusses ways in which they advance our understanding of climate policy.