New publication on corruption, labour, agency, and governance in post-earthquake Nepal

May 22, 2023

DRRN co-lead Sara Shneiderman has published an article in the journal Public Anthropologist titled "On the Subject of Corruption: 'Community Contributions' and the Labour of Infrastructural Development in Post-Earthquake Nepal."

In this piece, Shneiderman discusses issues of corruption, labour, agency, and governance within the context of Nepal's post-earthquake reconstruction.

Abstract: This piece explores ethnographically how new “subjects” of corruption are formulated through discursive and practical negotiations over the appropriate behaviour of those who would have previously been understood as subalterns. I explore these questions in the context of a reconstruction project in post-conflict, post-earthquake Nepal. Newly rendered as “community members” and “users,” in the language of both governmental and non-governmental agencies, I suggest that residents of Nepal’s rural areas navigate rapidly evolving state structures, domestic labour markets, and transnational relationships by practicing new forms of agency that can put them at odds with the expectations of the external actors who offer resources and regulate their use.

Follow the link below to read the full article.

Read the full article

Photo: © Bina Limbu. Following the 2015 earthquake, the importance of access was shown during the rescue and relief efforts, as well as during the reconstruction period. Roads are being constructed all over the hills, sometimes with catastrophic results as the roads pass through fragile terrain. Taken during the 1st phase of fieldwork conducted by the research team based at Social Science Baha in Kathmandu, Nepal, as part of the SSHRC Partnership Development Grant, ‘Expertise, Labour and Mobility in Nepal’s Post-Conflict, Post-Disaster Reconstruction’. See project details at https://elmnr.arts.ubc.ca/.


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