Everyday forms of collective action in Bangladesh: Learning from Fifteen Cases

This paper examines fifteen cases of collective action in six villages in rural Bangladesh. Collective action was defined broadly and identified from significant episodes in previous life-history research in the same villages. The types of collective action identified were catalyzed by marriage; dow...

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Autor principal: Davis, Peter
Formato: Artículo preliminar
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: International Food Policy Research Institute 2009
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/161861
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author Davis, Peter
author_browse Davis, Peter
author_facet Davis, Peter
author_sort Davis, Peter
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description This paper examines fifteen cases of collective action in six villages in rural Bangladesh. Collective action was defined broadly and identified from significant episodes in previous life-history research in the same villages. The types of collective action identified were catalyzed by marriage; dowry and domestic violence; disputes over land; illness, injury and death in accidents; and theft and cheating. The role of development NGOs was less significant than would be expected considering their visibility in rural Bangladesh. The study suggests that ‘everyday forms’ (Scott 1985) of collective action often occur spontaneously and informally, with significant impact on peoples’ wellbeing, but with ambiguous outcomes for some poor people involved. This is a different picture that is usually understood in Bangladesh – due to the visibility of NGOs – particularly by outsiders. Local government elected chairs and members play a key role in collective action events, which often include local arbitration, or shalish, hearings. A deeper understanding of how collective disputes and struggles are commonly managed in everyday life should help us to hold a more realistic view of the empowerment potential of interventions aimed at fostering collective action in rural Bangladesh.
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spelling CGSpace1618612025-02-19T14:02:56Z Everyday forms of collective action in Bangladesh: Learning from Fifteen Cases Davis, Peter collective action disputes social norms gender poverty This paper examines fifteen cases of collective action in six villages in rural Bangladesh. Collective action was defined broadly and identified from significant episodes in previous life-history research in the same villages. The types of collective action identified were catalyzed by marriage; dowry and domestic violence; disputes over land; illness, injury and death in accidents; and theft and cheating. The role of development NGOs was less significant than would be expected considering their visibility in rural Bangladesh. The study suggests that ‘everyday forms’ (Scott 1985) of collective action often occur spontaneously and informally, with significant impact on peoples’ wellbeing, but with ambiguous outcomes for some poor people involved. This is a different picture that is usually understood in Bangladesh – due to the visibility of NGOs – particularly by outsiders. Local government elected chairs and members play a key role in collective action events, which often include local arbitration, or shalish, hearings. A deeper understanding of how collective disputes and struggles are commonly managed in everyday life should help us to hold a more realistic view of the empowerment potential of interventions aimed at fostering collective action in rural Bangladesh. 2009 2024-11-21T09:58:54Z 2024-11-21T09:58:54Z Working Paper https://hdl.handle.net/10568/161861 en Open Access application/pdf International Food Policy Research Institute Davis, Peter. 2009. Everyday forms of collective action in Bangladesh. CAPRi working paper 0094. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute https://doi.org/10.2499/capriwp94.
spellingShingle collective action
disputes
social norms
gender
poverty
Davis, Peter
Everyday forms of collective action in Bangladesh: Learning from Fifteen Cases
title Everyday forms of collective action in Bangladesh: Learning from Fifteen Cases
title_full Everyday forms of collective action in Bangladesh: Learning from Fifteen Cases
title_fullStr Everyday forms of collective action in Bangladesh: Learning from Fifteen Cases
title_full_unstemmed Everyday forms of collective action in Bangladesh: Learning from Fifteen Cases
title_short Everyday forms of collective action in Bangladesh: Learning from Fifteen Cases
title_sort everyday forms of collective action in bangladesh learning from fifteen cases
topic collective action
disputes
social norms
gender
poverty
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/161861
work_keys_str_mv AT davispeter everydayformsofcollectiveactioninbangladeshlearningfromfifteencases