Uneven interventions and the scalar politics of governing livelihood adaptation in rural Nepal

► Theoretical and empirical advances in linking scale-as-a-political-process to adaptation. ► Unequal power relations determine a scalar politics. ► Policy contexts and decision-making are co-determined by a scalar political arena that is dominated by powerful political actors. ► Vulnerability is produced at local levels by scalar politics, as much as it can be measured objectively. ► There is a need for assessments that do not gloss over local complexity, power relations, social inequalities, and institutional constraints.