Doctoral Dissertation Research: Reciprocity, Collective Action, and Political Inequalities in Post-Disaster Resettlements in Andean Ecuador

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Doctoral student Albert J. Faas (University of South Florida), with the guidance of Dr. Linda M. Whiteford, will undertake research on how processes of disaster, displacement, and resettlement affect and are affected by both traditions of collective action and unequal local power structures. Particular attention will be paid to possible links between informal exchange relationships and post-event survival. Understanding the micro-processes of disaster response and recovery is critical to the future design and implementation of effective disaster responses.The research will be conducted in highland Ecuador where relocation because of active volanoes offers an ideal opportunity to examine these processes. The researcher will focus in part on traditional communal labor groups (called "mingas"). Preliminary research has suggested that there is a tension between cooperative, mutual support practices and unequal power relations in disaster-induced resettlement communities. This dynamic, which can be presumed to exist in other post-disaster contexts as well, may affect resettled individuals' access to disaster relief and development resources. The researcher will collect qualitative and quantitative data to address two overarching research questions: (1) To what extent are cultural practices of reciprocity eroded in the disaster and resettlement process? (2) To what extent are cultural practices of reciprocity leveraged to exert influence over the distribution of resources in the disaster and resettlement process? Data will be gathered through unstructured and semi-structured interviews with 90 participants and key informants, the examination of public records of attendance at key events, and participant observation at public meetings and in daily life. The first goal is to determine whether or not reciprocity and communal labor continue after resettlement. The second goal is to determine if different ways of participating in reciprocity and communal labor are associated with different degrees of influence in collective decision-making.The research is important because in the aftermath of both natural and manmade disasters quick but economical relief responses are essential. Understanding how to work with rather than against existing cultural practices will make such efforts both more effective and more efficient. Findings from the research will contribute to the growing body of multi-scale and inter-scalar theory of disaster cultures. Funding this research also supports the education of a graduate student.