Introduction
Many developing economies have been following a policy of large-scale public-sector investment for providing infrastructure and state investment s for development—these include roads, dams, special economic zones etc. These projects have caused major changes in the use of land and other natural resources and thereby increased the productivity land—positively contributing the gross domestic product (GDP) of many economies. At the same time, they have caused irreversible changes in the lives of thousands of people who inhabited or depended on those ‘green’ land and other natural resources for their survival. The acquisition of land for development involuntarily displaces the local inhabitants, mostly the poor and the deprived sections of population. Given the scale of growth in many developing countries especially in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, the scale of involuntary displacement is likely to increase over the years (source). As more and more people are forced to leave their homes and traditional livelihoods for projects that have benefits for the greater economy, this chapter focuses on the theory and evidence on the experience of the displacees.
2. Theorising Forced Displacement
Anthropologists identify various push and pull factors due to which people move from one place to the other. The push factors are comprised of economic, political, environmental and social reasons. Push and pull factor are often unique to specific regions; a few general examples of push and pull factor are listed in the table below.
Table 1: Example Push and Pull Factors for Migration
Push Factors Pull Factors
Poverty High Wages
Unemployment Improved Standard of Living
Low Wages Professional Development
High Fertility Rates
Education
These factors consider both the voluntary and involuntary aspects of migration. Forced displacement is the result of the push factors that generally force individuals out of their indigenous localities and make them move to a new place. An individual, when pushed out of his or her own comfortable habitat, is faced with many uncertainties. Involuntary resettlers are generally more anxious and face higher levels of insecurity compared to other migrants (Guggenheim and Cernea, 1993).
Forced or involuntary displacement is a multi-faceted issue that has affected people in the recent past. People are forced to migrate due to conflicts, environmental factors, natural disasters and man-made projects. Forced displacement can be looked at through multiple lenses- Sociology, Anthropology, Economics, Health, Public Policy etc. Due to this multi-faceted nature, forced displacement is difficult to model theoretically. Over the past 50 years or so, several theoretical models have been developed to explain issues surrounding displacement. Most of these models deal with the idea of resettlement. Resettlement has been majorly addressed by these models as the immediate impact of displacement is on the livelihoods and shelter.
In this section, we discuss a few seminal models to understand the evolution of theoretical models that have been put forth over the last few decades.
2-I. Chamber’s 3-stage model
Chamber (1970) identified a three-stages model of evolution of land resettlement policies. He identified the stages as recruitment, transition and development. Empirical studies such as that of Nelson (1973) (and studies cited there-in) that evaluated development-induced displacement issues in Latin America confirm the applicability of Chamber’s model. The model developed by Chamber and expanded by Nelson generalized the experience of voluntary settlers and thereby managed to conceptualize the institutional dimensions of managed land settlement programmes.
2-II. John Rawls General Conception of Justice model
Rawls (1971) states that all social primary goods such as liberty and opportunity, income and wealth, the bases of self-respect are to be distributed equally unless an unequal distribution of any or all of these good is to everyone’s advantage. When we talk about forcefully displaced populations, Rawls theory can be used to identify the problems encountered by the displacees i.e. identify the negative impacts that forced displacement has had on them. In the long term, if these displacees are not resettled with proper economic means there is a greater chance of these populations being impoverished.
In Rawlsian theory, forced displacement can create inequalities not only of income and wealth but also of social goods in terms of liberty and opportunity and the bases of self-respect. Further, based on Rawls theory of justice, forceful displacement of people is not only impoverishing but also unjust. Economists talk about compensation for different projects, but these compensations are far from being just. In line with Rawls theory when a person is displaced, in the short term, this individual needs a community that accepts him or her and provides this person with access to land, to resources for production, other subsistence resources that overall facilitates the individual’s new life. Communities should provide enough support for the cultural survival of the displacee as well.
2-III.Unbalanced Growth
Most of the issues with forced displacement can be largely attributed to the emergence of the unbalanced growth theory being used for rapid economic development. Unbalanced growth strategy in the developing and under-developed region ignores the marginalized population. Development Induced Displaced (DIDR) has been a common occurrence in the developing world, where vulnerable populations are forcefully moved to make way for development projects. The forceful displacement comes with a number of issues that are sometimes ignored by the governments or the institutions, whose main goal is large-scale development. Literature on this topic points out that most of these large-scale development projects provide inadequate compensation and poor resettlement packages. Furthermore, the loss of assets and compensation often paid in cash creates problems as assets are often difficult to rebuild and cash runs out easily. This often makes displacees worse off. The vulnerable population with lower levels education and income are the most affected as they lack knowledge and resources to rebuild a new life.
2-IV. Scudder Colson Model
Scudder and Colson developed a four-stage model of resettlement based on Chambers’ and Rawls’ theories. The four stages are recruitment, transition, development and incorporation/ handing over. The model looks at the behaviour of the resettlers focusing on the stress of the settlers and their specific behavioural reactions in each of the aforementioned stages.
The model was initially set up to analyse voluntary resettlements but was later adopted to analyse involuntary displacement under certain conditions. When a particular involuntary resettlement is successful and goes through all the four stages of the model, then the resettlement can be analysed under the purview of the Scudder and Colson Model. Irrespective of the kind of relocation, voluntary or involuntary, the initial phases are the most stressful in any migrants life. In the short term, they are faced with unavoidable adversities, adjustment issues, and acceptance. These issues resolve with time and in the long term they become more flexible, individualistic and find a place for themselves both culturally and aesthetically in the place of relocation.
The Scudder and Colson model has come under a lot of criticism from different academic spheres. De Wet (1993) talks about how the model ignores the differences in peoples’ reaction to involuntary displacement and focuses more on the similarities between voluntary and involuntary relocation. The model incorporates psych which is a step above the Chambers three stage model but in Cerneas point of view there is more to this issue than just stress. Cernea feels that behavioural patterns of displaced population need to be followed closely and their situation needs to be looked at with respect to economic, social and cultural impoverishment.
2-V. Impoverishment Risk Reconstruction (IRR)
Cernea (1997) in the IRR model shifted the focus from stress to impoverishment of the displacees. The IRR model was developed on the premise that forced displacement has marginalised and impoverished people more than benefitting them. IRR model presents eight potential risk factors associated to displacement. The risks are landlessness, joblessness, homelessness, marginalisation, food insecurity, increased mortality and morbidity, loss of access to common property and social disarticulation.
Cernea based his model on the idea that impoverishment is the main problem that is being faced by the forcefully displaced population. IRR model further explains the cultural and social dimensions apart from the economic aspects of impoverishment. In this model, Cernea lists potential risks such as landlessness, joblessness, homelessness, marginalisation, food insecurity, increased morbidity and mortality, loss of access to common property and services and social disarticulation. The most significant part of the IRR model is about rebuilding the lives of the displacees. Cernea represents a theoretical model of impoverishment due to displacement. The process of rebuilding takes into account all the risks listed above and provides ways to mitigate these risks for the displacees. This model has been recognised not only by economists but also by anthropologists and sociologists.