Sponsor
Hatfield School of Government. Public Affairs and Policy Ph. D. Program
First Advisor
Billie Sandberg
Term of Graduation
Winter 2025
Date of Publication
2-24-2025
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Public Affairs and Policy
Department
Public Affairs and Policy
Language
English
Subjects
Disaster Governance, Emergency Management, Neoliberalism, Nonprofit Organizations
Physical Description
1 online resource (xii, 306 pages)
Abstract
This dissertation examines the evolving role of Nonprofits Active in Disasters ("NADs") in disaster governance through a case study of the Cascade Relief Team, a nonprofit organization responding to the 2020 Echo Mountain Complex Fire in Oregon. Utilizing governmentality and assemblage theory frameworks, the study investigates how CRT navigates the complex interplay between neoliberal rationalities, community needs, and disaster response practices.
The research reveals CRT's multifaceted role in shaping disaster knowledge, mediating between official frameworks and local realities, and influencing the formation of resilient subjectivities. While CRT's practices often align with neoliberal approaches to disaster management, emphasizing individual responsibility and market-based solutions, the organization also challenges dominant narratives through its community-centered methods and advocacy for local knowledge.
Key findings highlight CRT's position as a crucial intermediary, and at times bulwark, in disaster governance, bridging gaps between state agencies and affected communities. The organization's practices both reinforce and contest neoliberal notions of resilience, revealing the complex negotiations inherent in contemporary disaster response.
This study contributes to a nuanced understanding of how NADs shape and are shaped by disaster governance assemblages, offering insights into the potential for more equitable and context-sensitive approaches to disaster management. The findings have significant implications for disaster governance policy and practice, suggesting the need for more flexible, community-driven frameworks that can better integrate local knowledge and address systemic vulnerabilities.
Rights
© 2025 Andrew Michael Russo
In Copyright. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).
Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/43188
Recommended Citation
Russo, Andrew Michael, "Navigating the Neoliberal Assemblage: The Role of a Nonprofit Organization Shaping Disaster Governance and Community Resilience" (2025). Dissertations and Theses. Paper 6794.
