State Capacity and Disaster Risk Vulnerability: The case of the 2014 mega-wildfire in Valparaíso, Chile

Abstract

The concept of vulnerability has been one of the main contributions of social sciences to the study of socio-natural disasters. Nonetheless, the literature on disaster risk has often considered vulnerability as an endogenous feature of individuals or communities, neglecting the social factors that frame the social actions of agents. This work sheds light on the relationship between vulnerability and the institutional environment of disasters by studying the 2014 wildfires that gravely affected the city of Valparaíso in Chile. The methods were based on document analysis and in-depth interviews with experts related to the management of this event. The results suggest that there is a neoliberal institutional arrangement in Chile that increases community vulnerability. This is because disaster risk management has been shaped by a ‘conjunctural perspective’ by different government administrations, lacking long-term state capacity. Based on these findings, we propose some final ideas about managing disaster risk and the relevance of ‘institutional continuity’ in developing those state capacities.

Keywords

• desastre socio-natural
• capacidad estatal
• vulnerabilidad
• gestión del riesgo de desastres
• chile