This study explored the relationship between social capital and proactive resilience in the context of climate disasters in Mongolia, the Philippines, and Vietnam. This country-level comparative study aimed to 1) determine associations between demographic, socioeconomic variables, and social capital, 2) explain how social capital affects community resilience, and 3) illustrate mechanisms of reactive and proactive resilience. Drawing on Nahapiet and Ghoshal (1998) and Carmen et al. (2022), the study determined whether each country exhibited reactive and/or proactive resilience mechanisms through three social capital dimensions: structural, relational, and cognitive. In-depth interviews and the Social Well-Being Survey in Asia (SoWSA) were utilized for the Philippines and Vietnam, and the Independent Research Institute of Mongolia (IRIM) Survey was used for Mongolia. The study found that all three countries showed a strong family-oriented culture that was important in disaster response. Rural communities also revealed stronger aspects of relational and cognitive dimensions, whereas urban areas benefited from established structural dimensions of social capital. All three countries demonstrated that local community engagement with governmental support can lead to a better disaster management response. Lastly, all three countries showed reliance on reactive mechanisms to an extent while continuously developing proactive resilience strategies.
Tumenjargal et al. (Sun,) studied this question.