Emerging Patterns of Social Capital, Livelihoods and Sustainable Development in Post-Conflict Northern Uganda

Mary Ejang; Apio Sarah Okite

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ss.20200905.15

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Emerging Patterns of Social Capital, Livelihoods and Sustainable Development in Post-Conflict Northern Uganda

Mary Ejang, Apio Sarah Okite

Published in Social Sciences (Volume 9, Issue 5)

Received: 4 September 2020 Accepted: 28 September 2020 Published: 12 October 2020

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Abstract

This qualitative study, conducted in Oyam district northern Uganda, presents an ethnographic analysis of the transformation of the social capital available to former internally displaced persons (IDPs) by the Lords’ Resistance Army (LRA) conflict, and the implications for their livelihood strategies. Northern Uganda suffered a protracted two decade (1986-2006) civil war between the LRA and Government of Uganda. Forced conscription, abduction and eventual displacement into camps by the combatants shattered the mutual trusts and capital that communities had accumulated overtime. This paper applied case study design to investigate the emerging forms of social capital among former displaced persons and the respondents were purposively selected. In-depth interviews were held with Government civil servants and local leaders while focus group discussions were conducted with community members to explore opinions on the after-displacement livelihood strategies. Sustainable livelihoods and social capital theories were applied to analyse the relationship between social capital and livelihood resilience upon returning home from displacement. The findings indicated that while emerging from displacement, family members moved in phases with family heads and elder children returning first to prepare livelihood strategies. Both positive and negative networks emerged that influenced preference for social groups and livelihood activities. The established social groups comprised of ‘doggola’ (kinship) relationships, wage-labour, neighbours, friendship, alcohol consumption and informal social support groups. Despite the dynamics experienced in social capital and livelihood activities, the former IDPs modified and reverted to the traditional social capital. This paper concludes that amidst conflict and displacement, social capital sustains household welfare and community development hence, social capital does not vanish but changes forms. Thus, the post-conflict reconstruction programme ought to integrate social capital into its package for sustainability purpose.

Published in	Social Sciences (Volume 9, Issue 5)
DOI	10.11648/j.ss.20200905.15
Page(s)	164-174
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Social Capital, Displacement, Livelihoods, Sustainable Development, Post-Conflict

References

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Mary Ejang, Apio Sarah Okite. (2020). Emerging Patterns of Social Capital, Livelihoods and Sustainable Development in Post-Conflict Northern Uganda. Social Sciences, 9(5), 164-174. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20200905.15

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Mary Ejang; Apio Sarah Okite. Emerging Patterns of Social Capital, Livelihoods and Sustainable Development in Post-Conflict Northern Uganda. Soc. Sci. 2020, 9(5), 164-174. doi: 10.11648/j.ss.20200905.15

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AMA Style

Mary Ejang, Apio Sarah Okite. Emerging Patterns of Social Capital, Livelihoods and Sustainable Development in Post-Conflict Northern Uganda. Soc Sci. 2020;9(5):164-174. doi: 10.11648/j.ss.20200905.15

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@article{10.11648/j.ss.20200905.15,
  author = {Mary Ejang and Apio Sarah Okite},
  title = {Emerging Patterns of Social Capital, Livelihoods and Sustainable Development in Post-Conflict Northern Uganda},
  journal = {Social Sciences},
  volume = {9},
  number = {5},
  pages = {164-174},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ss.20200905.15},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20200905.15},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ss.20200905.15},
  abstract = {This qualitative study, conducted in Oyam district northern Uganda, presents an ethnographic analysis of the transformation of the social capital available to former internally displaced persons (IDPs) by the Lords’ Resistance Army (LRA) conflict, and the implications for their livelihood strategies. Northern Uganda suffered a protracted two decade (1986-2006) civil war between the LRA and Government of Uganda. Forced conscription, abduction and eventual displacement into camps by the combatants shattered the mutual trusts and capital that communities had accumulated overtime. This paper applied case study design to investigate the emerging forms of social capital among former displaced persons and the respondents were purposively selected. In-depth interviews were held with Government civil servants and local leaders while focus group discussions were conducted with community members to explore opinions on the after-displacement livelihood strategies. Sustainable livelihoods and social capital theories were applied to analyse the relationship between social capital and livelihood resilience upon returning home from displacement. The findings indicated that while emerging from displacement, family members moved in phases with family heads and elder children returning first to prepare livelihood strategies. Both positive and negative networks emerged that influenced preference for social groups and livelihood activities. The established social groups comprised of ‘doggola’ (kinship) relationships, wage-labour, neighbours, friendship, alcohol consumption and informal social support groups. Despite the dynamics experienced in social capital and livelihood activities, the former IDPs modified and reverted to the traditional social capital. This paper concludes that amidst conflict and displacement, social capital sustains household welfare and community development hence, social capital does not vanish but changes forms. Thus, the post-conflict reconstruction programme ought to integrate social capital into its package for sustainability purpose.},
 year = {2020}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Emerging Patterns of Social Capital, Livelihoods and Sustainable Development in Post-Conflict Northern Uganda
AU  - Mary Ejang
AU  - Apio Sarah Okite
Y1  - 2020/10/12
PY  - 2020
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20200905.15
DO  - 10.11648/j.ss.20200905.15
T2  - Social Sciences
JF  - Social Sciences
JO  - Social Sciences
SP  - 164
EP  - 174
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2326-988X
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20200905.15
AB  - This qualitative study, conducted in Oyam district northern Uganda, presents an ethnographic analysis of the transformation of the social capital available to former internally displaced persons (IDPs) by the Lords’ Resistance Army (LRA) conflict, and the implications for their livelihood strategies. Northern Uganda suffered a protracted two decade (1986-2006) civil war between the LRA and Government of Uganda. Forced conscription, abduction and eventual displacement into camps by the combatants shattered the mutual trusts and capital that communities had accumulated overtime. This paper applied case study design to investigate the emerging forms of social capital among former displaced persons and the respondents were purposively selected. In-depth interviews were held with Government civil servants and local leaders while focus group discussions were conducted with community members to explore opinions on the after-displacement livelihood strategies. Sustainable livelihoods and social capital theories were applied to analyse the relationship between social capital and livelihood resilience upon returning home from displacement. The findings indicated that while emerging from displacement, family members moved in phases with family heads and elder children returning first to prepare livelihood strategies. Both positive and negative networks emerged that influenced preference for social groups and livelihood activities. The established social groups comprised of ‘doggola’ (kinship) relationships, wage-labour, neighbours, friendship, alcohol consumption and informal social support groups. Despite the dynamics experienced in social capital and livelihood activities, the former IDPs modified and reverted to the traditional social capital. This paper concludes that amidst conflict and displacement, social capital sustains household welfare and community development hence, social capital does not vanish but changes forms. Thus, the post-conflict reconstruction programme ought to integrate social capital into its package for sustainability purpose.
VL  - 9
IS  - 5
ER  -

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Author Information

Mary Ejang

Department of Public Administration and Management, Lira University, Lira, Uganda
Apio Sarah Okite

Department of Public Administration and Management, Lira University, Lira, Uganda

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Mary Ejang, Apio Sarah Okite. (2020). Emerging Patterns of Social Capital, Livelihoods and Sustainable Development in Post-Conflict Northern Uganda. Social Sciences, 9(5), 164-174. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20200905.15

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ACS Style

Mary Ejang; Apio Sarah Okite. Emerging Patterns of Social Capital, Livelihoods and Sustainable Development in Post-Conflict Northern Uganda. Soc. Sci. 2020, 9(5), 164-174. doi: 10.11648/j.ss.20200905.15

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AMA Style

Mary Ejang, Apio Sarah Okite. Emerging Patterns of Social Capital, Livelihoods and Sustainable Development in Post-Conflict Northern Uganda. Soc Sci. 2020;9(5):164-174. doi: 10.11648/j.ss.20200905.15

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.ss.20200905.15,
  author = {Mary Ejang and Apio Sarah Okite},
  title = {Emerging Patterns of Social Capital, Livelihoods and Sustainable Development in Post-Conflict Northern Uganda},
  journal = {Social Sciences},
  volume = {9},
  number = {5},
  pages = {164-174},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ss.20200905.15},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20200905.15},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ss.20200905.15},
  abstract = {This qualitative study, conducted in Oyam district northern Uganda, presents an ethnographic analysis of the transformation of the social capital available to former internally displaced persons (IDPs) by the Lords’ Resistance Army (LRA) conflict, and the implications for their livelihood strategies. Northern Uganda suffered a protracted two decade (1986-2006) civil war between the LRA and Government of Uganda. Forced conscription, abduction and eventual displacement into camps by the combatants shattered the mutual trusts and capital that communities had accumulated overtime. This paper applied case study design to investigate the emerging forms of social capital among former displaced persons and the respondents were purposively selected. In-depth interviews were held with Government civil servants and local leaders while focus group discussions were conducted with community members to explore opinions on the after-displacement livelihood strategies. Sustainable livelihoods and social capital theories were applied to analyse the relationship between social capital and livelihood resilience upon returning home from displacement. The findings indicated that while emerging from displacement, family members moved in phases with family heads and elder children returning first to prepare livelihood strategies. Both positive and negative networks emerged that influenced preference for social groups and livelihood activities. The established social groups comprised of ‘doggola’ (kinship) relationships, wage-labour, neighbours, friendship, alcohol consumption and informal social support groups. Despite the dynamics experienced in social capital and livelihood activities, the former IDPs modified and reverted to the traditional social capital. This paper concludes that amidst conflict and displacement, social capital sustains household welfare and community development hence, social capital does not vanish but changes forms. Thus, the post-conflict reconstruction programme ought to integrate social capital into its package for sustainability purpose.},
 year = {2020}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Emerging Patterns of Social Capital, Livelihoods and Sustainable Development in Post-Conflict Northern Uganda
AU  - Mary Ejang
AU  - Apio Sarah Okite
Y1  - 2020/10/12
PY  - 2020
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20200905.15
DO  - 10.11648/j.ss.20200905.15
T2  - Social Sciences
JF  - Social Sciences
JO  - Social Sciences
SP  - 164
EP  - 174
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2326-988X
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20200905.15
AB  - This qualitative study, conducted in Oyam district northern Uganda, presents an ethnographic analysis of the transformation of the social capital available to former internally displaced persons (IDPs) by the Lords’ Resistance Army (LRA) conflict, and the implications for their livelihood strategies. Northern Uganda suffered a protracted two decade (1986-2006) civil war between the LRA and Government of Uganda. Forced conscription, abduction and eventual displacement into camps by the combatants shattered the mutual trusts and capital that communities had accumulated overtime. This paper applied case study design to investigate the emerging forms of social capital among former displaced persons and the respondents were purposively selected. In-depth interviews were held with Government civil servants and local leaders while focus group discussions were conducted with community members to explore opinions on the after-displacement livelihood strategies. Sustainable livelihoods and social capital theories were applied to analyse the relationship between social capital and livelihood resilience upon returning home from displacement. The findings indicated that while emerging from displacement, family members moved in phases with family heads and elder children returning first to prepare livelihood strategies. Both positive and negative networks emerged that influenced preference for social groups and livelihood activities. The established social groups comprised of ‘doggola’ (kinship) relationships, wage-labour, neighbours, friendship, alcohol consumption and informal social support groups. Despite the dynamics experienced in social capital and livelihood activities, the former IDPs modified and reverted to the traditional social capital. This paper concludes that amidst conflict and displacement, social capital sustains household welfare and community development hence, social capital does not vanish but changes forms. Thus, the post-conflict reconstruction programme ought to integrate social capital into its package for sustainability purpose.
VL  - 9
IS  - 5
ER  -

Copy | Download