Social Capital and the Political Economy of Violence: A Case Study of Sri Lanka

Goodhand, Jonathan; Hulme, David; Lewer, Nick

doi:10.1111/1467-7717.00155

Cited by 81 publications

(53 citation statements)

References 8 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…In the face of adversity, the community's resilience manifests through local coping mechanisms based on its network of groupbased and family ties. 30 This resilience can be jeopardized by the cumulative effects of the social upheaval caused by the disaster, chronic conflict, unemployment, material deprivation and adverse impacts of relief aid that alters the dynamics of social interaction between the various actors. 31 An understanding of the context in which aid is delivered is essential.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Local perspectives on humanitarian aid in Sri Lanka after the tsunami

Lee

2008

Public Health

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Objectives: This case study examines the impact of humanitarian aid from the perspectives of local stakeholders in Sri Lanka following the tsunami disaster of December 2004.Study Design: Qualitative study using key-informant and focus group interviews.Methods: Key-informant and focus group interviews were conducted with tsunami survivors, community leaders, the local authorities and aid workers sampled purposively. Data collected was analysed using thematic analysis.Results:The study found that aid had aggravated social tensions and the lack of community engagement led to grievances. There was a perceived lack of transparency, beneficiary expectations were not always met and it was difficult to match aid to needs. Rapid participatory approaches to obtain beneficiary feedback in post disaster settings are possible but have limitations due to respondent bias.Conclusions: In order to mitigate adverse social impacts of their programmes, humanitarian aid agencies need to better understand the context in which aid is delivered. Beneficiary feedback is essential in disaster planning and response so that disaster response can be better matched to the needs of beneficiaries.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Local perspectives on humanitarian aid in Sri Lanka after the tsunami

Lee

2008

Public Health

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…31 (p114-150) Goodhand et al, based on research done in war-affected Sri Lankan communities, describe shifts of social capital in the context of violence. 32 Our study shows that torture also leads to financial empowerment of the torturer, and to economic weakening of the targeted individual/group. Post-conflict efforts to achieve civil reconciliation must address the particular ways in which "wealth" has forcibly been moved between community groups.…”

Section: Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 64%

Mercy for money: Torture’s link to profit in Sri Lanka, a retrospective review

Block

Lee

Vijayasingham

2017

Torture

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: The purpose of this retrospectivestudy is to describe the pattern ofbribe taking in exchange for release fromtorture, during and after the decades-longwar in Sri Lanka. Methods: We reviewedthe charts of 98 refugee claimants from SriLanka referred to the Canadian Centre forVictims of Torture for medical assessmentsprior to their refugee hearings in Torontobetween 1989 and 2013. We tallied thenumber of incidents in which claimantsdescribed paying cash or jewelry to endtorture, and collected other associated datasuch as demographics, organizations of theperpetrators, locations, and, if available,amounts paid. We included torture perpetratedby both governmental and nongovernmentalmilitant groups. Collected data wascoded and evaluated. Findings: We foundthat 78 of the 95 subjects (82.1%) whosereported ordeals met the United NationsConvention Against Torture/InternationalCriminal Court definitions of torturedescribed paying to end torture at least once.43 subjects paid to end torture more thanonce. Multiple groups (governmental andnon-governmental) practiced torture andextorted money by doing so. A middlemanwas described in 32 percent of the incidents.Payment amounts as reported were highcompared to average Sri Lankan annualincomes. The practice of torture and relatedmonetary extortion was still reported afterthe end of the war, inclusive of 2013.Interpretation: Torture in Sri Lanka isunlikely to end while profit motives remainunchallenged. As well as health injuries,victims of torture and their families suffersignificant economic injuries while theirassailants are enriched. The frequent linkbetween torture and impunity meansmultiple populations the world over arevulnerable to this abuse.

show abstract

“…Its mirror-image companion process is the destruction during war of social capital that leads to heightened risks of violence in postwar society (Colletta and Cullen 2000;Goodhand et al 2000).…”

Section: Explanatory Domains and Indicatorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Semi-Parametric Spatial Regression Approach to Post-War Human Security: Cambodia, 2002–2004

2008

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Human security in post-war societies depends on incentives to forego violence in local interactions. The government of Cambodia monitors domestic violence, land conflicts and serious crime in over 13,000 villages and urban neighbourhoods. We use three annual data collections to estimate the response of these conflicts to the legacy of the war, poverty and resource competition, urbanity as well as governance quality. Bayesian spatial regressions help identify socio-economic thresholds beyond which conflicts expand or contract significantly. We find numerous non-linearities in the propensities for violence. Notably, predicted rates decrease in response to quality of governance only at a high level of service provision, which, realistically, most communities may not soon achieve. This may justify dedicated programmes addressing particular types of conflicts. We propose alternative analytic approaches, including some that would make the problem of endogeneity more tractable once updated poverty estimates become available.

show abstract

Social Capital and the Political Economy of Violence: A Case Study of Sri Lanka

Cited by 81 publications

References 8 publications

Local perspectives on humanitarian aid in Sri Lanka after the tsunami

Local perspectives on humanitarian aid in Sri Lanka after the tsunami

Mercy for money: Torture’s link to profit in Sri Lanka, a retrospective review

A Semi-Parametric Spatial Regression Approach to Post-War Human Security: Cambodia, 2002–2004

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About