Chaos, order and world view: tibetan refugees in Switzerland

This article is about culturally specific responses to extreme events. The concept of social chaos and some criteria for distinguishing this concept are discussed. Social chaos refers to an extreme situation in which neither the rules of normal behaviour nor those for coping with unexpected problems apply. It is suggested that the concept of world view may be an asset in the study of social chaos. The case of Tibetan refugees in Switzerland is presented to show how the ability of a society to survive a disaster is related to the specific outlook on the world shared by members of that society. Finally, it is asked whether it would be possible to account for a society's response to disasters, on the basis of socio-cultural factors.