Social Impacts of Infrastructure Construction: Sociological Approaches to Development

Abstract

This chapter helps readers unfamiliar with sociology to obtain a concrete picture of what a sociological approach to development is. It presents arguments based not only on previous research in the English-speaking world, but also on research trends in Japan. Sociological studies of development can be divided into two fields based on their disciplinary origins and research orientation: ‘Sociology of Development’ and ‘Development Sociology’. First, this chapter explains the difference between these research areas. Furthermore, as a case study, the issue of displacementDisplacementand resettlementResettlement induced by damDam construction is presented to examine what kind of sociological analysis has been conducted in these research areas. Accordingly, the author presents research perspectives that are considered unique to sociology in development issues: power relations among actors at development sites; secondary, indirect, mid-, and long-term impacts of development projects; macro–micro linkages among international, national, and regional transformations; and values, culture, and discourse on development. Finally, a discussion is presented on the role of sociological research in the debate on sustainability and how it can play a significant part.