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Conceptualising disaster social capital

What It Is, Why It Matters, and How It Can Be Enhanced

Bibliographic Data

ID3898710
AuthorsShinya Uekusa (0000-0003-2694-5144, School of Psychology Massey University New Zealand), Steve Matthewman (0000-0002-7497-5877, Sociology, Faculty of Arts University of Auckland New Zealand), Daniel F Lorenz (0000-0002-5690-6384, Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology Freie Universität Berlin Germany)
Year2022
Volume46
Issue1
Pages56-79
Publication date2022-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueDisasters (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0361-3666 • E-ISSN: 1467-7717
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/disa.12470
PMID33247455
OpenAlexW3109895316
LanguageEN
Citations received41
References cited94

Social capital discourse occupies an important place in disaster studies. Scholars have adopted various inflections of social capital to explain how those with greater amounts of this crucial resource are generally more resilient to disasters and experience speedier recovery. Disaster scholars have also discovered that people typically display altruistic tendencies in the wake of disasters and develop novel networks of mutual support, known as 'communitas', which is also seen to build resilience and boost recovery. In this paper, we use the work of Pierre Bourdieu to synthesise these literatures, conceptualising communitas as 'disaster social capital'. We offer a fleshed-out definition of disaster social capital to distinguish it from regular social capital and discuss the barriers to, and the enablers of, its formation. While primarily a conceptual discussion, we believe that it has practical and policy value for disaster scholars and practitioners interested in inclusive disaster risk reduction as well as full and just recoveries

Business · Capital (architecture · Computer security · Forensic engineering · Geography · Injury prevention · Medical emergency · Occupational safety and health · Poison control · Political science · Social capital · Suicide prevention · Computer Science · Disaster Management and Resilience · Engineering · Homelessness and Social Issues · Human Factors and Ergonomics · Law · Medicine · Social Capital and Networks

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Unique citing works41
Citations per year8,2
Citation span2021 - 2026 (6)
Citation velocitycurrent
Highly citedNo
Citation typesNeutral: 41
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