Societal dynamics and fragility : engaging societies in responding to fragile situations / Alexandre Marc ... [and others].

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Marc, Alexandre, 1956-

World Bank.

Series:

New frontiers of social policy

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Social planning--Developing countries.

Social planning.

Social stratification--Developing countries.

Social stratification.

Social groups--Developing countries.

Social groups.

Civil society--Developing countries.

Civil society.

Social policy.

Developing countries--Social policy.

Developing countries.

Physical Description:

xiii, 226 pages ; 23 cm.

Place of Publication:

Washington, D.C. : World Bank, [2013]

Summary:

Today's world is changing at breakneck speed, shaking the very foundations of many societies. Increased mobility through massive urbanization and migration; allows people unprecedented access to different cultures and ideas; advanced technologies speed the pace of human interaction; and the globalization of communication offers new forms of social relationships that may directly contradict traditional norms for behavior. These changes create tremendous stresses on relationships in societies -affecting the way youth interact with their elders, the way women and men relate to each other, how urban migrants and refugees relate to their new environments; and so on.

The impacts of these changes are felt acutely in fragile situations, in which groups and institutions struggle to adapt to the stresses of rapid social change. In the worst cases- where fragility has given way to open violences-people are more than twice as likely to be malnourished, more than three times as likely to be unable to send their children to school, twice as likely to see their children die before age five, and more than twice as likely to lack clean water. In addition to these domestic challenges, the costs of fragility often spill over to neighboring regions in the form of trafficking in illegal goods and persons, corruption, and violence.

Societal Dynamics and Fragility frames a fresh approach to these challenges by focusing on improving relationships across the groups and institutions in society. Drawing on case studies from Yemen, the Central African Republic, Haiti, Liberia, and Aceh (Indonesia), the book provides a framework for understanding and healing the social divides that often get in the way of building capable institutions and exiting from fragility. Book jacket.

Contents:

Chapter 1 Understanding Fragility 11

Approach of the Study: Seeing Fragility from a Societal Perspective 13

Study Methodology 16

Organization of the Book 18

Notes 19

References 20

Chapter 2 Understanding State-Society Connectedness 23

State Building and Citizenship 24

State-Society Interactions 26

Social Cohesion and the State-Society Relationship 31

Notes 32

References 33

Chapter 3 Social Cohesion: A Convergence across Groups 39

Understanding Convergence across Groups 40

Convergence and Cohesion 42

Divergence, Bridging Failures, and Bonding Failures 49

Some Societal Dynamics Are Especially Counterproductive to Convergence across Groups 53

Unintended Effects of Economic and Political Factors on Convergence 56

Going Forward: Building Social Cohesion in Fragile Situations 59

Notes 60

References 61

Chapter 4 Perceptions of Injustice and Social Cohesion 65

Perceptions of Injustice, Measurable Inequalities, and Intergroup Tensions 66

Different Criteria for Assessing Fairness 67

Contextual Factors Exacerbate Perceptions of Injustice across Groups 72

Notes 84

References 85

Chapter 5 Social Cohesion and Interactions between Institutions 89 Constructive Interactions between Customary and State Institutions, arid Social Cohesion 90

Problems Associated with Unconstructive Interactions Observed in the Field 95

The Role of Civil Society in Improving Interactions between Customary and State Institutions 106

Moving Forward: Understanding How Social Cohesion Affects Broader Relationships in Society 110

Notes 110

References 111

Chapter 6 Changing Relationships and Social Cohesion 115

Population Movements 116

Generational Relationships 127

Challenges .to Gender Relationships 135

Notes 138

References 139

Chapter 7 From Concept to Practice: Fostering Social Cohesion to Reduce Fragility 143

Denning a New Approach: Placing Social Cohesion at the Center of Development Strategies 144

Prioritizing Social Cohesion through a Flexible Programming Approach 147

Creating Space to Support Voice and Mediation between Various Understandings of World and Society 150

Improving Analytical Methods and Tools to Better Assess Societal Dynamics and the Context in Which They Operate 154

Combining Social and Political Analysis 159

Notes 166

References 167

Chapter 8 Designing Policies and Programs to Build Social Cohesion 169

Addressing Perceptions of Injustice across Groups 170

Improving Interactions among Institutions 186

Supporting Civil Society in Improving the Relationship between State and Society 193

Strengthening State Capacity to Engage Positively with Society 197.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780821396568

0821396560

9780821397084

0821397087

OCLC:

794367355