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In this study, we examine how the two facets of the fear of terrorism—the affective and behavioural fears—shift over time. To this end, we use a unique longitudinal data set of a representative sample of 755 Dutch respondents, recruited from the Longitudinal Internet Studies for the Social Sciences panel, in the time period between November 2017 and May 2020. We find that the reported affective fear of terrorism is significantly lower during the COVID‐19 crisis in 2020 than it was in 2017. Yet a divergent trend for behavioural fear of terrorism occurred. In spite of decreased affective fear of terrorism threats, respondents in 2020 reported increased protective and avoidance behaviours, similar to behaviours promoted to stop the spread of COVID‐19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The I Anthem Companion to Selznick i brings together a wonderful group of authors who are intimately familiar with Selznick's work (several authors knew Selznick himself). His coauthor Philippe Nonet had an idea why many sociologists did not recognize the value of Selznick's work: "those who interpreted Selznick through the lens of a particular field would find something but will miss all that matters" (p. 189). During his long career, spanning nearly seven decades, Philip Selznick (1919-2010) authored a set of classic books. [Extracted from the article]

Copyright of Risk, Hazards & Crisis in Public Policy is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Several Canadian and international scholars offer commentaries on the implications of the COVID‐19 pandemic for governments and public service institutions, and fruitful directions for public administration research and practice. This first suite of commentaries focuses on the executive branch, variously considering: the challenge for governments to balance demands for accountability and learning while rethinking policy mixes as social solidarity and expert knowledge increasingly get challenged; how the policy‐advisory systems of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and United Kingdom were structured and performed in response to the COVID‐19 crisis; whether there are better ways to suspend the accountability repertoires of Parliamentary systems than the multiparty agreement struck by the minority Liberal government with several opposition parties; comparing the Canadian government's response to the COVID‐19 pandemic and the Global Financial Crisis and how each has brought the challenge of inequality to the fore; and whether the COVID‐19 pandemic has accelerated or disrupted digital government initiatives, reinforced traditional public administration values or more open government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Risk, Hazards & Crisis in Public Policy is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Modern societies rely on complex technological systems that are deeply intertwined with other complex systems that stretch across geographical, judicial and administrative borders. When threats emanate from this transboundary space, national governments are often surprised and discover that existing crisis management arrangements do not suffice. This article describes the political and administrative challenges that accompany transboundary crises. It argues that arrangements and processes that work reasonably well for "bounded" crises are unlikely to work in the case of transboundary crises. It formulates an agenda for political debate and academic research. The bottom line is that we need to rethink traditional crisis management arrangements in order to prepare for these increasingly common type of threats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Why do some public organizations survive for many decades, whereas others are terminated within a few years? This question of organizational survival has long intrigued public administration scholars. To explain longevity, public administration research has focused on organizational design features and adaptive capacities. The results have been inconclusive. This article explores an additional explanation for survival and demise: the density dependence theory as formulated in the field of organizational ecology. The underlying premise of this theory is that certain environments can only sustain a certain number of similar‐type organizations. A rising number of organizations fuels competition for scarce resources, which inevitably leads to the demise of organizations. Density theory has often been tested in the business literature, but has been rarely applied to public sector organizations. In this article, we test whether this theory can help explain organizational survival in a population of US federal independent public agencies (n = 142). Our results show that density matters. This is good news for public administration research: the inclusion of density boosts the explanatory power of traditional variables such as design and adaptation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public administration scholars tend to take for granted that organizational adaptation is important. This common notion that public organizations must adapt to stay alive has not been put to the test in the field of public administration, however. Intriguingly, organization ecologists find that adaptation does not matter and might even be counterproductive for individual organizations. They argue that the absence of adaptation-which they refer to as structural inertia-actually enhances the likelihood of survival. But organization ecologists focus mostly on nonpublic organizations. This prompts the question whether adaptation in public organizations really matters. In this article, we test these contrasting claims (while controlling for design features) on a population of U.S. federal independent public agencies ( n = 142). Our findings suggest a subtle narrative. We conclude that proactive adaptation increases termination hazards. But inertia does not seem to significantly enhance survival chances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Risk, Hazards & Crisis in Public Policy is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Global risks are now increasingly being perceived as networked, and likely to result in large-scale, propagating failures and crises that transgress national boundaries and societal sectors. These so called 'globally networked risks' pose fundamental challenges to global governance institutions. A growing literature explores the nature of these globally networked or 'systemic' risks. While this research has taught us much about the anatomy of these risks, it has consistently failed to integrate insights from the wider social sciences. This is problematic since the prescriptions that result from these efforts flow from naїve assumptions about the way real-world state and non-state actors behave in the international arena. This leaves serious gaps in our understanding of whether networked environmental risks at all can be governed. The following essay brings together decades of research by different disciplines in the social sciences, and identifies five multi-disciplinary key insights that can inform global approaches to governing these. These insights include the influence of international institutions; the dynamics and effect of international norms and legal mechanisms; the need for international institutions to cope with transboundary and cross-sectoral crises; the role of innovation as a strategy to handle unpredictable global risks; and the necessity to address legitimacy issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public management is a domain of research that is now roughly three decades old. Researchers in this area have made important advances in understanding about the performance of public organizations. But questions have been raised about the scope and methods of public management research (PMR). Does it neglect important questions about the development of major institutions of the modern state? Has it focused unduly on problems of the advanced democracies? Has it made itself irrelevant to public debates about the role and design of government, and the capacity of public institutions to deal with emerging challenges? This set of eight short essays were prepared for a roundtable held at the research conference of the PMR Association at the University of Aarhus in June 2016. Contributors were asked to consider the question: Is PMR neglecting the state? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crises and disasters feature high on political and public agendas around the world. Practitioners wrestle with the challenge to provide protection while maintaining legitimacy. They pine for insights that lie at the heart of public administration: designing effective institutions and preserving transparency; enabling and empowering citizens without undermining a coordinated response; balancing long-term risks against short-term needs; bridging the divide between theory and practice, and between the public and private sectors. But in the debates about designing institutions that protect against transboundary threats and critical infrastructure failures, the public administration community is strangely absent. It has parked itself on the sideline, concerning itself with the routine processes of governance. In this article, we argue that the time has come for public administration scholars to incorporate crisis and disaster management into the main research agendas of the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of transboundary crises and disasters has increased pressure on European states to cooperate in the realm of crisis and disaster management. The European Union has taken an active role to connect national capacities of member states. Little is known, however, about the compatibilities of national civil protection systems. This article attempts to fill that void. We draw on a comparative study on 22 European states and highlight similarities as well as patterns of variation. We explore how different states define the role of government during crises and disasters; we map the administrative structures and procedures in place to provide civil security. We also assess the quality of these systems. Our findings reveal that administrative responsibilities, legal frameworks and operational practices differ markedly, as the national systems are rooted in national contexts and historical experiences. In the light of our findings, we contemplate what role the EU can play to build joint transboundary crisis management capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the European continent has witnessed a substantial number of 'transboundary crises' - crises that cross geographical borders and affect multiple policy domains. Nation states find it hard to deal with such crises by themselves. International cooperation, thus, becomes increasingly important, but it is not clear what shape or form that cooperation should take. This article explores the growing role of the European Union ( EU) in managing transboundary crises. More specifically, it reflects on the different ways in which the expanding contours of the EU's emerging crisis capacity can be organized. Using three 'performative dimensions' - sense-making, coordination, and legitimacy - the article discusses the possible advantages and disadvantages of a decentralized, network model and compares it with a more centralized, lead-agency model. It concludes that the current network model is a logical outcome of the punctuated and fragmentary process through which EU crisis management capacities have been created. It also notes that the shortcomings of this model may necessitate elements of a lead-agency model. Such 'agencification' of networks for transboundary crisis management may well lead to a hybrid model that is uniquely suited for the peculiar organizational and political creature that the EU is. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Union ( EU) has modest but promising capacities to assist member states overwhelmed by disaster through its Civil Protection Mechanism. The EU also routinely sends civil and military missions to hotspots outside EU territory. But these capacities do not suffice in the face of transboundary crises: threats that cross geographical and policy borders within the Union. Examples include epidemics, financial crises, floods, and cyber terrorism. Nation states cannot cope with these threats without international collaboration. In this article, we explore the EU's efforts to develop transboundary crisis management capacities. We describe these budding capacities, explain their policy origins, and explore their future potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Making sense of a crisis is an important task for leaders at both the operational and strategic level. In the current article, we argue that there is a difference between sensemaking at the strategic and operational levels of a disaster response. An 'appreciative gap' may emerge between the two levels as a result. Such a gap can cause stress and strife between the operational and strategic layers working on the same crisis event. Bridging the gap poses very specific demands on leadership at both the strategic and operational level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The editorial presents the view that risk analysis and crisis management are important skills in public administration and will become increasingly important because of threats to modern society. Challenges in public administration such as citizen participation in the decision-making process and compliance with government regulation are discussed.

In recent years, crises have become increasingly transboundary in nature. This exploratory paper investigates whether and how the transboundary dimensions of crises such as pandemics, cyber attacks and prolonged critical infrastructure failure accentuate the challenges that public and private authorities confront in the face of urgent threats. We explore the transboundary dimensions of crises and disasters, discuss how an increase in 'transboundedness' affects traditional crisis management challenges and investigate what administrative mechanisms are needed to deal with these compounded challenges. Building on lessons learned from past crises and disasters, our goal is to stimulate a discussion among crisis management scholars about the political-administrative capabilities required to deal with 'transboundary' crises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The February 2009 bushfires have prompted a debate with regard to contemporary arrangements for dealing with large-scale disasters. In this article, we seek to contribute to that debate by culling lessons learned from the literature on crisis and disaster management. We discuss what constitutes an effective disaster response system, we identify some key barriers to the effective functioning of such a system, and offer some suggestions for improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crisis management research has largely ignored one of the most pressing challenges political leaders are confronted with in the wake of a large-scale extreme event: how to cope with what is commonly called the blame game. In this article, we provide a heuristic to help understand political leader responses to blame in the aftermath of crises, emphasizing the crucial role of their leadership style on the political management of Inquiries. After integrating theoretical and empirical findings on crisis management and political leadership styles, we illustrate our heuristic by applying it to the Bush administration's response to Hurrican Katrina in 2005. We conclude by offering suggestions for further research on the underdeveloped subject of the blame management challenges faced by political leaders in the wake of acute crisis episodes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Why do some public organizations grow old and others die young? Since Herbert Kaufman first posed this question, considerable research has been devoted to answering it. The findings of that research suggest that the design of new public organizations affects, to a significant degree, their survival chances. In this article, we test whether and how “design factors” affected the durability of the so-called New Deal organizations initiated under FDR's first term. Our findings confirm that design factors do matter, but their effects change over time. We draw out some potential implications for institutional design and sketch a renewed research agenda to determine why some public organizations survive environmental pressure whereas others succumb to it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The world of crises and disasters is changing rapidly. We are witnessing new types of adversity. In addition, modern societies have become increasingly vulnerable to disruptions, new and old. This new world demands new types of responses, which nation states cannot produce alone. Nation states will have to cooperate to protect their citizens from these threats. This article investigates the role of the European Union in the development of new safety and security arrangements. It identifies conceptual building blocks for a new security paradigm and offers design principles that can facilitate a shared way of thinking and acting in the safety and security domain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, we have witnessed a series of spectacular crises and disasters: 9/11, Madrid and London, the Asian tsunami, the Mumbai attacks, the implosion of the financial system—the world of crises and disasters seems to be changing. This special issue explores how these crises and disasters are changing and what governments can do to prepare. This opening article defines critical concepts, sketches a theoretical perspective, offers key research findings, and introduces the contributions to the special issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After the demise of the space shuttle Columbia on February 1, 2003, the Columbia Accident Investigation Board sharply criticized NASA’s safety culture. Adopting the high-reliability organization as a benchmark, the board concluded that NASA did not possess the organizational characteristics that could have prevented this disaster. Furthermore, the board determined that high-reliability theory is “extremely useful in describing the culture that should exist in the human spaceflight organization.” In this article, we argue that this conclusion is based on a misreading and misapplication of high-reliability research. We conclude that in its human spaceflight programs, NASA has never been, nor could it be, a high-reliability organization. We propose an alternative framework to assess reliability and safety in what we refer to as reliability-seeking organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modern societies are widely considered to harbour an increased propensity for breakdowns of their critical infrastructure (CI) systems. While such breakdowns have proven rather rare, Hurricane Katrina has demonstrated the catastrophic consequences of such breakdowns. This article explores how public authorities can effectively prepare to cope with these rare events. Drawing from the literature on crisis and disaster management, we examine the strengths and weaknesses of traditional approaches to crisis preparation and crisis response. We argue that the established ways of organising for critical decision-making will not suffice in the case of a catastrophic breakdown. In the immediate aftermath of such a breakdown, an effective response will depend on the adaptive behaviour of citizens, front-line workers and middle managers. In this article, we formulate a set of strategies that enhance societal resilience and identify the strong barriers to their implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Union has become increasingly involved with protecting the security and safety of European citizens. The latest addition to this new policy space is critical infrastructure protection (CIP) at the EU level. A central role for the EU in guarding against infrastructural breakdowns and preparing for failures may seem self-evident. In reality, the precise nature of such a role remains unclear. Moreover, enthusiastic rhetoric is not always matched by firm action. This article surveys what the EU has in place in terms of CIP and identifies outstanding issues for debate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conventional thinking in emergency and crisis management focuses on the application of codified procedures to unforeseen contingencies. Modern society's increased dependence on critical infrastructures and the emerging vulnerabilities of these large-scale networks create challenges that are hard to meet with conventional tools of crisis management. This article discusses the inherent vulnerabilities and explores the requirements of effective preparation for escalatory network breakdowns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crisis management (prevention, preparedness, response, and reconstruction) is a tough task for political and bureaucratic leaders. This article documents the persistent tensions between the expectations and realities of crisis leadership. It explores the popular notion that crises provide key opportunities for reform. The very occurrence of a crisis is then thought to expose the status quo as problematic, making it easier to gain momentum for alternative policies and institutions. We argue that the opportunities for reform in the wake of crisis are smaller than often thought. The prime reason is that the requisites of crisis leadership are at odds with the requirements of effective reform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discusses trends in crisis management practice and research. Proliferation of risk, complexity and tight couplings and its impact on economic growth; Political association of risk management; Developments in crisis research.

In the Western world, prison systems have to deal with the inherent tension between the need for safety and the aim to offer rehabilitative opportunities to prisoners. Conventional prison wisdom tells us that safety concerns tend to constrain opportunities for rehabilitation, while treatment programmes undermine safety. The small group of violent and escape-prone prisoners found in most prison systems poses a special problem. In theory, two policy options exist in order to deal with this problem: (i) disperse high-risk prisoners throughout the system, or (ii) concentrate high-risk prisoners in a so-called supermax prison. The Dutch prison system has long shifted between concentration and dispersion. In 1993, a supermax was built. This article explains why this shift occurred and how penal experts have dealt with issues of safety and treatment in this new supermax. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discusses the challenges facing public managers and corporate leaders in the changing nature of crisis. Information on the fault model of crisis preparation; Pathologies that accompany crises and breakdowns; Way of preparing for anticipated contingencies.

The article discusses various reports published within the issue, including one by Charles Parker, Eric Paglia, Eric Stern and Christer Brown on the unpreparedness of the U.S. government in handling natural disasters, one by Johannes Bauer and Michel van Eeten on the world of future crises and another by Bruce Dayton and Margaret Hermann on the decision-making challenge faced by crisis leaders on transboundary crises.

This article presents a letter from the editor, which discusses articles in the issue. The article presents a collection of article summaries, which includes "Critical Infrastructure in the Face of a Predatory Future: Preparing for Untoward Surprise," "Preparing for Critical Infrastructure Breakdowns: The Limits of Crisis Management and the Need for Resilience," and "Design Infrastructures: Dilemmas of Design and the Reliability of Critical Infrastructures."

An introduction is presented in which the editors discuss various reports within the issue on topics including the European Union's (EU) transboundary crisis management abilities, the EU's civil protection mechanism, and the EU's humanitarian aid.

The authors reflect on the works of Todd LaPorte as a founding figure that provides inspiration, support, and legitimacy as the academic field of crisis management continues to develop quickly. The authors mention that LaPorte is known for his work in High Reliability Theory (HRT), complex organizations, and technology, as well as, the surprises that government must deal with. Meanwhile, they cite two theorists, Chester Barnard and James Thompson, who stand out in LaPorte's work.

An obituary for professor Alexander Kouzmin and co-founder of "Journal of Contigencies and Crisis Management" is presented.