Critical aspects of social networks in a resettlement setting

Abstract

Each year, more than 30 million people worldwide are displaced by disaster, development, and conflict. The sheer magnitude of displacement points to a need for wider application of social science theories and methodologies to the special problems posed by these crises. We are convinced that social network analysis of the structure and development of social relations can help to identify variables and patterns essential to maintaining or fostering social (re)articulation in resettlement. The research model we propose applies advances in network methodology to emerging theory on structural gaps in networks in the context of forced displacement and resettlement.

Chaque année, plus de 30 millions de personnes de par le monde sont déplacées par des catastrophes, le développement et les conflits. L'ampleur même du déplacement indique la nécessité d'appliquer de façon plus large les théories et les méthodologies des sciences sociales aux problèmes spéciaux soulevés par ces crises. Nous avons la conviction qu'une analyse basée sur les réseaux sociaux de la structure et du développement des relations sociales peut contribuer à identifier des variables et des schémas essentiels pour maintenir ou favoriser une (ré)articulation sociale dans le contexte de la réinstallation. le modèle de recherche que nous proposons applique les progrès réalisés en méthodologie des réseaux aux théories émergentes sur les lacunes structurelles des réseaux, ce dans le contexte du déplacement et de la réinstallation forcés.

Todos los años, a nivel mundial, más de 30 millones de personas son desplazadas como consecuencia de desastres, planes de desarrollo o conflictos. La enorme magnitud que tiene dicho desplazamiento da cuenta de la necesidad de aplicar más ampliamente las teorías y las metodologías propias de las ciencias sociales a los problemas idiosincráticos surgidos de estas crisis. Los autores sostienen que un análisis de la estructura y el desarrollo de las relaciones sociales realizado a partir de las redes sociales, puede ayudar a identificar variables y patrones esenciales con el objetivo de mantener o fomentar la (re)articulación social en los nuevos asentamientos de desplazados. En este sentido, los autores proponen un modelo de investigación que aplica los avances logrados en la metodología de redes a la teoría emergente sobre las lagunas estructurales que se detectan en las redes en contextos de desplazamiento involuntario y de reasentamiento.

Keywords:

• Conflict and reconstruction – Forced displacement
• Labour and livelihoods – Migration
• Aid – Aid effectiveness
• Latin America and the Caribbean

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Michael Cernea for comments on an earlier draft of this paper, presented at the 68th Annual Meeting of the Society for Applied Anthropology in Memphis, TN, 24 March 2008. The research drawn upon for this article was partially funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF 0751264/0751265, Collaborative Research – Social Networks in Chronic Disasters: Exposure, Evacuation, and Resettlement, A National Science Foundation Dissertation Improvement Grant (NSF #1123962), and the Fellowship in Hazards, Risk, and Disasters (PERISHIP), a joint program of The Natural Hazards Center at the University of Colorado and the Public Entity Risk Institute (PERI) with funding from the National Science Foundation.

Notes on contributors

A.J. Faas is Assistant Professor of Anthropology at San José State University. His research focuses on practices of exchange, social organization, and politics in contexts of environmental crisis – disasters, displacement and resettlement, development, and violent conflict.

Eric C. Jones is an Assistant Professor in the School of Public Health at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. His work focuses on collective action, social support and conflict in extreme contexts like disasters, warfare and migration, often drawing on social network analysis to understand causes and consequences of social support.

Graham A. Tobin is Professor of Geography at the University of South Florida. His research interests in natural hazards, water resources policy, and environmental contamination focus on sustainability concerns of human vulnerability, community resilience, social networks, and health conditions in hazardous environments.

Linda M. Whiteford is Professor of Anthropology at the University of South Florida. She specialises in applied medical anthropology, international health, water-borne disease, and community sustainability during and following disasters.

Arthur D. Murphy is Professor of Anthropology at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. His current research focuses on how social networks impact preparation for and reactions to natural disasters, and linking models of stress and social support to provide better treatment for disaster survivors.