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Bloated bodies and broken bricks: Power, ecology, and inequality in the political economy of natural disaster recovery

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  • Sovacool, Benjamin K.
  • Tan-Mullins, May
  • Abrahamse, Wokje

Abstract

Disaster recovery efforts form an essential component of coping with unforeseen events such as earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, and typhoons, some of which will only become more frequent or severe in the face of accelerated climate change. Most of the time, disaster recovery efforts produce net benefits to society. However, depending on their design and governance, some projects can germinate adverse social, political, and economic outcomes. Drawing from concepts in political economy, political ecology, justice theory, and critical development studies, this study first presents a conceptual typology revolving around four key processes: enclosure, exclusion, encroachment, and entrenchment. Enclosure refers to when disaster recovery transfers public assets into private hands or expands the roles of private actors into the public sphere. Exclusion refers to when disaster recovery limits access to resources or marginalizes particular stakeholders in decision-making activities. Encroachment refers to when efforts intrude on biodiversity areas or contribute to other forms of environmental degradation. Entrenchment refers to when disaster recovery aggravates the disempowerment of women and minorities, or worsens concentrations of wealth and income inequality within a community. The study then documents the presence of these four inequitable attributes across four empirical case studies: Hurricane Katrina reconstruction in the United States, recovery efforts for the 2004 tsunami in Thailand, Typhoon Yolanda in the Philippines, and the Canterbury earthquakes in New Zealand. It next offers three policy recommendations for analysts, program managers, and researchers at large: spreading risks via insurance, adhering to principles of free prior informed consent, and preventing damage through punitive environmental bonds. The political economy of disaster must be taken into account so that projects can maximize their efficacy and avoid marginalizing those most vulnerable to those very disasters.

Suggested Citation

  • Sovacool, Benjamin K. & Tan-Mullins, May & Abrahamse, Wokje, 2018. "Bloated bodies and broken bricks: Power, ecology, and inequality in the political economy of natural disaster recovery," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 243-255.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:110:y:2018:i:c:p:243-255
    DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2018.05.028
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. Tormos-Aponte, Fernando & García-López, Gustavo & Painter, Mary Angelica, 2021. "Energy inequality and clientelism in the wake of disasters: From colorblind to affirmative power restoration," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    3. Philippe Le Billon & Manoj Suji & Jeevan Baniya & Bina Limbu & Dinesh Paudel & Katharine Rankin & Nabin Rawal & Sara Shneiderman, 2020. "Disaster Financialization: Earthquakes, Cashflows and Shifting Household Economies in Nepal," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 51(4), pages 939-969, July.
    4. Shafiqul Islam & Khondker Mohammad Zobair & Cordia Chu & James C. R. Smart & Md Samsul Alam, 2021. "Do Political Economy Factors Influence Funding Allocations for Disaster Risk Reduction?," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 14(2), pages 1-20, February.
    5. Annetta Burger & Talha Oz & William G. Kennedy & Andrew T. Crooks, 2019. "Computational Social Science of Disasters: Opportunities and Challenges," Future Internet, MDPI, vol. 11(5), pages 1-31, April.
    6. Cappelli, Federica, 2020. "Investigating the Origins of Differentiated Vulnerabilities to Climate Change and their Effects on Wellbeing," FACTS: Firms And Cities Towards Sustainability 307987, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM) > FACTS: Firms And Cities Towards Sustainability.
    7. Joyashree Roy & Anjal Prakash & Shreya Some & Chandni Singh & Rachel Bezner Kerr & Martina Angela Caretta & Cecilia Conde & Marta Rivera Ferre & Corinne Schuster-Wallace & Maria Cristina Tirado-von de, 2022. "Synergies and trade-offs between climate change adaptation options and gender equality: a review of the global literature," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 9(1), pages 1-13, December.
    8. Kelsea Best & Siobhan Kerr & Allison Reilly & Anand Patwardhan & Deb Niemeier & Seth Guikema, 2023. "Spatial regression identifies socioeconomic inequality in multi-stage power outage recovery after Hurricane Isaac," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 117(1), pages 851-873, May.
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