ABSTRACT
Vulnerability is no universal theory; it is a middle range theory attempting to integrate conceptual reasoning and empirical research with regard to specific social phenomena (e.g. the occurrence of devastating famines or floods). A meaningful application of the concept should be based on some kind of contextualisation both empirically as well as conceptually (cf. Kuhlicke et al., 2011). Against this background, the current application of the concept of vulnerability and the increasing emphasis on assessment procedures across the globe seems somewhat troubling. Particularly the strong relationship between cause and effect on which most attempts to assess and evaluate vulnerability are based is worth a moment of reflection. Many vulnerability researchers are implicitly or explicitly interested in unravelling the ‘causal forces’ at work (Watts and Bohle, 1993: 43) that define the relationship between root causes, dynamic pressures and unsafe conditions (Blaikie et al., 1994). Pursuing this view means identifying the root causes that affect the ‘allocation and distribution of resources between different groups of people’ (1994: 24) and thus shape the vulnerability of people.
