Abstract
The transition from response to recovery in Nepal following the 25 April and 12 May 2015 earthquakes represents an unusual set of tensions among political, economic, geographic, social, technical, and physical constraints. We examine this set of tensions in interorganizational, interjurisdictional decision making to assess how interlocking constraints stalled the recovery process following the severe earthquakes. We use a mixed-methods research design, drawing on data from a review of documentary sources regarding Nepali laws, policies, and procedures in reference to disaster mitigation and response; content analysis of reports from local newspapers and professional organizations; and direct observations from two field trips to Nepal: the first from June to early July of 2015, and the second, one year later from April to May of 2016. Using these sources, we identified a network of influential organizations operating in disaster decision making and the constraints that shaped this process. We conclude that transition from response to recovery in Nepal represents a complex, dynamic process involving actors at different scales of operation—from local to global—that exceeded the capacity of any single actor to guide or control.
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