Capitalizing on catastrophe : neoliberal strategies in disaster reconstruction / edited by Nandini Gunewardena and Mark Schuller.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Gunewardena, Nandini.

Schuller, Mark, 1973-

Series:

Globalization and the environment

Globalization and the environment series

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Disaster relief.

Humanitarian assistance--Economic aspects.

Humanitarian assistance.

Natural disasters.

Globalization--Economic aspects.

Globalization.

Charities.

Capitalism--Social aspects.

Capitalism.

Physical Description:

xiv, 273 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Lanham : AltaMira Press, [2008]

Summary:

In Capitalizing on Catastrophe an international group of scholars and professionals critically examine how local communities around the world have prepared for and responded to recent cataclysms. The book's principal focus is the increasing trend to rely on the private sector to deal with natural disasters and other forms of large-scale devastation, from hurricanes and tsunamis to civil wars and industrial accidents. Called "disaster capitalism" by its critics, the tendency to contract private interests to solve massive, urgent public problems may be inevitable but is extremely problematic-especially with respect to peoples who need help the most. For example, can private relief groups give the highest priority to potential and actual victims of large disasters, if that means devoting fewer resources to protecting tourism and other profitable industries? The high-profile contributors to this volume straightforwardly tackle such timely and difficult questions of great public concern.

Contents:

Human security versus neoliberal approaches to disaster recovery / Nandini Gunewardena

Deconstructing the disaster after the disaster : conceptualizing disaster capitalism / Mark Schuller

Through a glass, darkly : humanitarianism and empire / Antonio Donini

International tourism and disaster capitalism : the case of Hurricane Mitch in Honduras / Susan Stonich

Peddling paradise, rebuilding Serendib : the 100-meter refugees versus the tourism industry in post-tsunami Sri Lanka / Nandini Gunewardena

The resilience of vulnerable households : adjusting to neoliberal capitalism in the aftermath of Hurricane Iris / Sara E. Alexander

Race, class, and the politics of death : critical responses to Hurricane Katrina / Wahneema Lubiano

Disaster, displacement, and employment : distortion of labor markets during post-Katrina reconstruction / Gregory Button and Anthony Oliver-Smith

Class inequality, liberal bad faith, and neoliberalism : the true disaster of Katrina / Adolph Reed Jr.

Capitalization of post-9/11 recovery / Bettina Damiani

The foul odor of capital : the union carbide disaster in Bhopal, India / Elizabeth Guillette

"Haiti is finished!" Haiti's end of history meets the ends of capitalism / Mark Schuller

After the storm : the aftermath of Guatemala's post-civil war / Anna Belinda Sandoval Girón

Conclusion: Envisioning alternatives : seven pragmatic proposals to advance human security in disaster assistance and recovery / Nandini Gunewardena and Mark Schuller.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 235-260) and index.

ISBN:

9780759111028

0759111022

9780759111035

0759111030

OCLC:

173683631