Altamira Press The Political Economy of Hazards and Disasters (Society for Economic Anthropology Monograph Series)

Throughout history, societies have had to decide whom to "sacrifice" and whom to help in times of disaster. This volume examines how elite groups attempt to maintain power through the use of particular economic, political, and ideological instruments and how both ruling elites and common people endeavor to create meaningful traditions while enduring hardship.The Political Economy of Hazards and Disasters demonstrates how vulnerability is economically constructed, primary producers adapt their production regimes, how traders and merchants adapt their practices, and how political economic objectives play out in recovery efforts. Review I enjoyed this analytical collection of disaster studies and am impressed by its uniform excellence and many contributions to this ripening field of research. Disasters fill the daily news, crying out for explanation and action. Jones and Murphy and their collaborators analyze a superbly representative collection of disaster experiences from the Americas and elsewhere. The 'culture of response' is revealed through provocative theoretical analysis and close examination of the facts on the ground to highlight the commonality of themes that characterize the ways in which people deal with disasters, what ever their cause. The book's depth of theoretical understanding coupled with numerous lessons for those who would mitigate the impacts of calamities is an outstanding collective achievement, rarely found in edited volumes. This fascinating and instructive set of cases from the archaeological past to contemporary catastrophes is enlightening in every respect.--Paul L. Doughty, Distinguished Service Professor, Emeritus, University of Florida This book engages the reader by providing two novel perspectives on disaster response tailored to an anthropological audience. First, the chapters present a broad perspective on the culture of response as seen through the lenses of diverse case studies based on archaeological, biological, cultural anthropological, and even linguistic data. The chapters also go beyond a consideration of economic and political factors in the analysis of disaster responses by documenting the impacts of disasters on the daily lives of ordinary persons.--Richard Blanton, Purdue University About the Author Eric C. Jones is research scientist in the department of anthropology at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Arthur D. Murphy is professor in the department of anthropology at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.