Prologue: Victims or Partners? The Social Perspective in Development-Induced Displacement and Resettlement

Abstract

The special focus section in this issue examines the interface between anthropology and development-forced displacement and resettlement. Anthropologists first analysed the social consequences of displacement, drawing attention to its social costs and the complexity of the resettlement process. Beyond this, they turned their attention to advocacy for those displaced by articulating the policy and practical changes necessary to mitigate the damage. This prologue tracks some key points in that interface. Has this interface resolved the problems of displacement? No, partly because social aspects of displacement are still neglected; however, now people faced with displacement can summon a far wider range of strategies with which to frame their concerns.