Development-Induced Displacement and Resettlement

Causes, Consequences, and Socio-Legal Context

Bogumil Terminski

• Editorial: Ibidem Press
• Año: 2015
• ISBN:
  9783838267234
• Categoría: Politics & International Relations
• Categoría: Globalisation

This book explores the issue of development-induced resettlement, with a particular emphasis on the humanitarian, legal, and social aspects of this problem. Today, so-called 'development-induced displacement and resettlement' (DIDR) is one of the dominant causes of internal spatial mobility worldwide. Each year over 15 million people are forced to abandon their homes to make space for economic development infrastructure. The construction of dams and irrigation projects, the expansion of communication networks, urbanization and re-urbanization, the extraction and transportation of mineral resources, forced evictions in urban areas, and population redistribution schemes count among the many possible causes.Terminski aims to present the issue of development-caused displacement as a highly diverse, global social problem occurring in all regions of the world. As a human rights issue it poses a challenge to public international law and to institutions providing humanitarian assistance. A significant part of this book is devoted to the current dynamics of development-caused resettlement in Europe, which has been neglected in the academic literature so far.

1. An overview of development-induced displacement and resettlement

The last century was a period of unprecedented economic development in many areas of the world. Although it led to an improved quality of life in many regions, just as often the consequence was the deterioration of living conditions and various forms of marginalization of the poorest and already excluded communities, such as indigenous people, outside the mainstream of society. The development of democracy and political empowerment of local communities increased the number of beneficiaries of economic development. In ancient Rome and some Asian empires the main beneficiaries of economic development were the rulers and the closed circles of the elite. As observed especially in the twentieth century, the greater democratization of social relations meant that economic development would serve the interests of a much larger proportion of the population.

The most fundamental goal of economic development seems to be to advance the welfare and well-being of the people. Those responsible for policy development, however, should reflect on three fundamental questions: what is the purpose of economic development, who benefits from it, and by what means should it be implemented?

The ultimate goal of human development, including economic development, should be the expansion of individual and collective freedom. The vast majority of social transitions known from historical records were aimed at the empowerment of the individual within a society of independent actors determining their own fate. The purpose of the Neolithic revolution, with the rise of the first urban settlements and the civilizations located in river basins, was to increase the freedom of man, understood in the context of minimizing adverse human effects on the environment. Also, modern conceptions emphasize the importance of economic development as a means of increasing the well-being of all members of society. Economic development should therefore have a positive effect on emerging categories such as human development, human security and human rights. Unfortunately, however, the principles expressed here are still very far from realization in many parts of the world. Economic development is not undertaken to improve the lives of all the inhabitants of a country, but to serve the interests of government, private business or narrow social elites. Economic development, rather than contributing to the expansion of personal and communal freedom, in many regions becomes a cause of progressive enslavement and marginalization of an increasing number of people. Thus it leads to human rights violations on a growing scale, accompanied by several forms of social exclusion.

The megaprojects, such as irrigation programs and large dams, have become symbols of economic development in many countries of Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Apart from their obvious economic and social functions they have played a propaganda role, affirming the worth of the existing political system. In relatively wealthy countries such as India and China, special economic and propaganda value was attached to the construction of large dams. Socially costly megaprojects were among the basic tools of Mao Ze Dong's brutal project called the Great Leap Forward, implemented between 1958 and 1961. As the primary instrument of this bloody program of industrialization and collectivization, Maoist growth-oriented and natural resources-intensive economic policy demanded the construction of at least six hundred large dams each year. India also sought to base its economic development on the construction of big dams, symbolized by the construction of the longest man-made dam in the world—the Hirakud dam. African countries also perceived the realization of such projects as an important tool of economic development. A phenomenon very specific to this part of the world is the policy of collectivization and villagization. Both its overall vision and standards of implementation often reflect the worst of the Soviet experience.

Implementation of large development projects therefore serves the broad economic interests of the country and so maximizes the well-being of all its citizens. The construction of large dams is a typical example of projects implemented for public purposes. Their creation may lead to an increase in the amount of available energy and lower its price, in turn contributing to the speedier economic growth of the whole nation. In addition, these projects may yield other economic benefits such as the creation of thousands of new jobs and income from tourism. However, the increased energy security and well-being of urban residents cannot be achieved through the violation of the most fundamental areas of human security of displaced and affected people. Unfortunately a number of economic development policies of developing states regard involuntary resettlement as a necessary and unavoidable cost of development, and the people affected by it as victims of a just cause. We should also point out that sometimes the benefits of large development projects do not contribute in any way to an increase in the welfare of citizens but only serve the interests of authoritarian governments.

The general assumption that economic development enhances the well-being of the whole society inspires no controversy today. The problem seems to be an often simplistic understanding of society in various parts of the world. In many developing countries there are fixed traditions of economics and law hedged round by strong social divisions. Communities in a weaker economic or social position are not always seen as full-fledged citizens on a par with the dominant social groups who benefit from economic development. The particular problems of persons displaced by development projects in the countries we have observed are characterized by deeply entrenched social divisions and the existence of groups outside the mainstream of society. Over the centuries and up to the present day, such groups have paid and are paying the largest individual and community costs of economic development. Due to their low economic status and poor social position, they are seen as victims of progress by the authorities responsible for implementation of development projects that involve discriminatory practices. Even appropriate mechanisms for implementation planning and support for the displaced cannot solve all their problems without a significant change in perception of their position and erosion of negative cultural traditions. Economic modernization of developing states should be accompanied by an attempt to expand the group of beneficiaries of development to the widest circles of society. This requires, however, a very strong transformation in the perception of the members of these groups. Even the adoption of appropriate legislation and greater political empowerment of previously marginalized groups will not completely eradicate the problems. Discrimination against certain social groups is in fact strongly established by tradition, culture and religion.

For many decades, the practical dimension of the implementation of development policy has been the subject of debate among national authorities, academics and inte...

Índice

• Cover
• Table of Contents
• List of Acronyms
• Foreword
• From the author
• Introduction—a brief overview of contemporary involuntary migrations
• 1. An overview of development-induced displacement and resettlement
• 2. Historical considerations regarding development-induced population displacement and resettlement
• 3. Theoretical conceptualization of development-induced displacement and resettlement
• 4. The most important causes of development-induced displacement and resettlement
• 5. The European context of development-induced displacement and resettlement
• 6. Actors of resettlement processes and their basic functions and objectives
• 7. Applying the concept of human security to research on development-induced displacement and resettlement.
• 8. Development-caused displacement and resettlement as a social and economic opportunity
• 9. Development-induced displacement and the dynamics of social change
• 10. The politicization of development-induced displacement and resettlement
• 11. Voluntary resettlement schemes
• 12. Analysis of the stages of resettlement process
• 13. Compensation: forms, principles, and potential socio-economic consequences
• 14. The impact of development-induced displacement and resettlement on families
• 15. Resources as a key issue determining the causes, course, and the socio-economic consequences of resettlement
• 16. Irreversible spiral of displacement, evictions and forced migrations
• 17. Activities of international institutions
• 18. Development-Induced Displacement and Human Rights
• 19. In which direction the international human rights should go? The right not to be displaced and the right to be resettled
• 20. Concluding remarks
• 21. Abstract
• 22. Résumé
• 23. Selected Bibliography
• 24. Annexes
• Notes
• Copyright