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In this paper we point out the topic and the rational of the symposium aiming on the one hand to connect preparedness to the uncertainty that characterizes society-environment relation, on the other hand to emphasise the need for sociology not only to denounce the governmental implications of preparedness but also to engage constructively with this category. We begin by recalling the framework changes that have characterized the social sciences’ understanding of disasters by showing how progressively the idea of disaster as a one-time event that disrupts a society from the outside has been complemented by an idea of disaster as a critical moment embedded in historically determined social structures. We will then discuss how the emergence of the preparedness paradigm fits within these developments and how sociological research can help to better understand what is at stake in the governing of (and by) preparedness. In this perspective we advance a reading of preparedness from the vantage point of knowledge. As a conclusion, we discuss how the understanding of preparedness as dependent on socio-ecological transformation raises specific challenges for territorial governance.

The article aims at developing a dialogue between the sociology of disasters and the sociology of public action, with particular regards to the role of knowledge in welfare policy. In particular, we argue that — in an era increasingly characterised by the importance of quantitative knowledge, categorization and standardization — the studies on the “informational bases of public action” has greatly contributed to the understanding of the social dimension of the processes through which such numbers and categories are produced, incorporating extant inequalities and power relations. Through the reference to the social crises that followed Covid-19 outbreak in 2020, we show how this focus on the processes of knowledge-making can be enriched by a specific approach to disaster prevention and management such as “preparedness”, especially in its cynegetic and transformative form purposes. We conclude by outlining avenues for future research on welfare policies in a time of structural uncertainty and emergency.

This is an introduction to the Symposium on “Preparedness in an Uncertain and Risky World”.