Social bricolage in the aftermath of war

Abstract

While social bricolage has emerged as a key theoretical frame for understanding how social entrepreneurs mobilize and deploy resources to create social value under situations of resource scarcity, there is scant knowledge about social bricolage in post-conflict settings characterised by extreme resource paucity and adversity. Drawing on field research in post-conflict northern Uganda, we show how groups of disenfranchised young people use social bricolage to create social change in a volatile situation marked by extreme resource deprivation and a plethora of challenges arising in the aftermath of war. Based on empirical data, we outline three key practices of social bricolage employed to cope with resource scarcity, extended crisis and volatility. First, we unravel the practice of securing resources and creating social value by mobilizing peers. Second, we show how pluriactivity is used to stretch and make the most of scarce resources in a shifting environment. Third, we illuminate the practice of rekindling pre-war cultural resources to reunite fragmented communities. By illuminating these practices and showing how the context of the post-conflict developing country setting influences the dynamics of ‘making do with resources at hand’, we seek to extend social bricolage theory.

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