In this paper, I use the concept of discourse to reflect upon how varying
understandings of climate change permeate a certain political arena:
international development cooperation. Starting off in the international
political context, I move on to focus on Swedish development cooperation
politics in the area of climate change, which I argue is much in line with the
dominant international discourse. Swedish politicians also like to depict
Sweden as an important actor and a forerunner on climate and development. In
the final parts I outline the political context and climate discourses in
Bolivia, one of Sweden’s partner countries for development cooperation and a
country which has lately kept a high profile in international politics of
climate change. I sketch out how the climate discourse promoted by the
Bolivian government differs radically from the one brought forward by the
Swedish development cooperation agency, and argue for further research on
these matters to understand how these discourses are formed and reproduced,
and what may be the effects when they collide in the context of development
cooperation
