Willem Assies died in 2010 at the age of 55. The various stages of his career as a political anthropologist of Latin American illustrate how astute a researcher he was. He had a keen eye for the contradictions he observed during his fieldwork but also enjoyed theoretical debate. A distrust of power led him not only to attempt to understand "people without voice" but to work alongside them so they could discover and find their own voice. Willem Assies explored the messy, often untidy daily lives of people, with their inconsistencies, irrationalities, and passions, but also with their hopes, sense of beauty, solidarity, and quest for dignity. This collection brings together some of Willem Assies's best, most fascinating, and still highly relevant writings.

An estimated 2 billion people live in countries affected by fragility, conflict and violence. Extreme poverty is increasingly concentrated in these areas, and governments and international agencies seek avenues to enable socio-economic recovery and to support people as they try to rebuild their lives and livelihoods. People, Aid and Institutions in Socio-economic Recovery: Facing Fragilities provides an in-depth understanding of people's strategies in the face of conflict and disaster-related fragility and examines how policies and aid interventions enable their socio-economic recovery - or fail to do so. Through field-based research, the book captures the complex and unfolding realities on the ground, exploring the interfaces between economic, social and institutional change. This provides a rich and unique vantage point from which to reflect on the impact of recovery policies. The book provides a set of cross-cutting findings that aim to inform policy and practice. The detailed case studies of the book lay bare key dynamics of recovery. Set against the findings from two chapters that review the literature, the cases provide evidence-based lessons for socio-economic recovery. The chapters combine qualitative and quantitative methodologies and form a valuable resource to researchers and postgraduate students of disaster management, conflict, humanitarian aid and social reconstruction, and development management.

An estimated 2 billion people live in countries affected by fragility, conflict and violence. Extreme poverty is increasingly concentrated in these areas, and governments and international agencies seek avenues to enable socio-economic recovery and to support people as they try to rebuild their lives and livelihoods. People, Aid and Institutions in Socio-economic Recovery: Facing Fragilities provides an in-depth understanding of people's strategies in the face of conflict and disaster-related fragility and examines how policies and aid interventions enable their socio-economic recovery - or fail to do so. Through field-based research, the book captures the complex and unfolding realities on the ground, exploring the interfaces between economic, social and institutional change. This provides a rich and unique vantage point from which to reflect on the impact of recovery policies. The book provides a set of cross-cutting findings that aim to inform policy and practice. The detailed case studies of the book lay bare key dynamics of recovery. Set against the findings from two chapters that review the literature, the cases provide evidence-based lessons for socio-economic recovery. The chapters combine qualitative and quantitative methodologies and form a valuable resource to researchers and postgraduate students of disaster management, conflict, humanitarian aid and social reconstruction, and development management.