Read all posts for ‘Governance’

Natural disasters occur in a political space.  Although events beyond our control may trigger a disaster, the level of government preparedness and response greatly determines the extent of suffering incurred by the affected population.  We use a political economy model of disaster prevention,  supported by case studies and preliminary empirics […]

This paper explores the effect of natural disasters on conflict. Disasters disrupt daily lives and social systems and call into question prevailing social and political arrangements. Directly and indirectly they create the conditions for instability and conflict by exacerbating social grievances and resource scarcities, and accelerating changes in social systems. […]

This paper sets out an examination of natural disaster amongst small island developing states (SIDS), and presents a framework for assessing the interaction of global pressures and local dynamics in the production of human vulnerability. Change at the global level is found to be a source of new opportunities as […]

Natural disasters have been linked to a higher risk of violent conflict, but some studies find that negative shocks in rainfall, which could indicate drought disasters, can create a window of-opportunity that makes democratization more likely. This study investigates whether actual natural disasters are associated with changes in democracy. We […]

US policy in Haiti “lays the foundation for why the impact of natural disaster is so severe”. Democracy Now! discusses the situation in Haiti following the massive earthquake in 2010, as well as the history of Haiti, with two guests who have spent a lot of time there.