Archive | Vol. 1/2008 | No. 3. Surviving catastrophes

Dölemeyer, Anne [Publishing editor]

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Content

Scientific article

Editorial

Dölemeyer, Anne

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Pages: 1-3

Scientific article

Die Natur der Gefahr : zur Geschichte der Überschwemmungsversicherung in Deutschland und den USA / Luebken, Uwe [Autor:in] – 2008

Luebken, Uwe

Abstract:

In response to ever growing material damages caused by floods over the last two centuries, societies have sought techniques and methods to prevent, minimize or at least mitigate the physical and social havoc wreaked by such events. It was not until the middle of the nineteenth century, however, that insurance was added to the toolbox of flood management practices. The history of flood insurance is, by and large, a history of failure, at least as far as private insurance companies are concerned. Due to the lack of statistics, an accumulation of “bad risks” (adverse selection), and hydro-geographical factors, the insurance industry has to this day not been able to provide broad financial protection against flood hazards. Theoretically, insurance is an innovative way of dealing with contingency by spreading risk in time and space. In the case of flood insurance, however, nature’s “behaviour” has turned out to be not simply less predictable than expected, it is literally unaccountable. Thus, in countries where flood insurance is available today, the government is usually involved – either as a provider of direct or indirect subsidies or as the actual insurer.

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Pages: 4-20

Scientific article

Including the capacity for coping with surprises in post-disaster recovery policies : reflections on the experience of Tangshan, China

Mitchell, James K.

Abstract:

Surprises are characteristic features of many disasters that pose major challenges to theorists as well as practitioners. When surprises occur during the recovery stage of disasters, they can complicate efforts to reestablish order, by introducing new variables that demand attention from societies that are already hardpressed to adjust to a problem-laden environment. The case of Tangshan, China stands as an example of an economic development surprise that permitted decision-makers greater than anticipated latitude to reset and attain post-disaster policy goals. In recent decades, other surprises, like sustainable development, global change, European political restructuring and the War on Terror, have had more complex impacts on disaster recovery policies and programs throughout the world. The current global credit crisis may yet be another disjunctive event in this context. Herein, it is argued that the management of surprises like these will become ever more salient in the 21st century during the recovery phase of disasters.

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Pages: 21-38

Scientific article

The vulnerable can′t speak : an integrative vulnerability approach to disaster and climate change research

Voss, Martin

Abstract:

This article discusses a vulnerability approach to disaster research and research on climate change adaptation. As an integrated approach, it claims to consider social, economic and ecological factors. A central aspect is thereby added to the discussion of such a framework. A hypothesis is debated in which the vulnerability of a reference unit (humans, community, ecosystem, etc.) is highly dependent on the degree of influence the unit can exert on its relevant conditions for subsistence. The ability to influence theses conditions depends, to a large extent, on discursive factors. This holds true on a local as well as regional and global scale. So far, these factors have been largely ignored. To emphasise this special determinant of vulnerability, the term “participative capacity” is proposed.

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Pages: 39-56

Scientific article

Regen, Erdbeben und Klimawandel : die Katastrophe der unrechtmäßigen Herrschaft in antiker literarischer Tradition / Müller, Sabine [Autor:in] – 2008

Müller, Sabine

Abstract:

This paper explores the political interpretation of natural disasters in ancient literary tradition. Regarded as divine signs or punishments, a natural phenomenon or disaster is often connected to illegitimate rule. Specifically, the paper will examine the connection between natural disasters and political changes in ancient literature. It will be argued that descriptions of natural disasters often serve either to emphasize or to hide violations of political tradition or continuity of power.

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Pages: 57-72

Review