Disasters, Social Movements, Policy Responses and Sociocultural Evolution

A special issue of Social Sciences (ISSN 2076-0760). This special issue belongs to the section "Contemporary Politics and Society".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2024 | Viewed by 1473

Special Issue Editor

Institute for Research on World-Systems, University of California-Riverside, Riverside, CA 92521, USA
Interests: disasters; hazards; preparedness; mitigation; collapses; selection; sociocultural evolution; social movements; collective behavior; world-systems; policy responses; state formation; global governance

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Large natural and anthropogenic hazards and disasters have operated as selection sweeps in the evolution of within-polity and interpolity sociocultural systems by destroying lives and the human-built environment and by provoking social movements and policy responses that were intended to identify causes and protect against future disasters.  Individuals, households, communities, settlements, polities and interpolity systems that are the most prepared and resilient to these selection mechanisms survive and prevail. Disasters spur social movements and collective behavior and policy responses from polities that identify causes, motivate rebuilding, and seek to defend against hazards and mitigate the negative consequences of future disasters. These social movements and policy responses have been, and are now, important drivers of complexity and hierarchy. Contemporary global climate change is increasing the frequency and severity of disasters and is spurring social movements and policy initiatives in response. Social scientists have long studied the causes and consequences of single and compound disasters at different levels of analysis. This Special Issue will contain studies of past and recent single disasters and comparative studies that employ global disaster data to examine causes, consequences and the social movements and policy responses that have been and are being spurred by disasters.

Prof. Dr. Christopher K. Chase-Dunn
Guest Editor

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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19 pages, 1139 KiB  
Case Report
Chilean Disaster Response and Alternative Measures for Improvement
by Luciana das Dores de Jesus Da Silva, Susanne Kubisch, Mauricio Aguayo, Francisco Castro, Octavio Rojas, Octavio Lagos and Ricardo Figueroa
Soc. Sci. 2024, 13(2), 88; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci13020088 - 31 Jan 2024
Viewed by 1059
Abstract
Effective DRM aims to identify and minimize both hazards and vulnerabilities of a territory. This case study carried out in Chile analyzes national programs and disaster risk management structures at different administrative levels (national, regional, and municipal) and identifies gaps that contribute to [...] Read more.
Effective DRM aims to identify and minimize both hazards and vulnerabilities of a territory. This case study carried out in Chile analyzes national programs and disaster risk management structures at different administrative levels (national, regional, and municipal) and identifies gaps that contribute to the vulnerability of the current system. The proposed measures and options for improvement presented in this study are based on a literature review of scientific discussions about international governance, disaster risk management, and case studies conducted in Chile. The results indicate that the national disaster risk management plan has been adjusted in recent years, especially after the 2010 Chilean earthquake. The national administration, which is primarily responsible for managing potential risks, as well as the regional and local governments, has been replaced by the National Disaster Prevention and Response System (SINAPRED) in 2021, according to the 21364 law. This law was created to make cities more resilient, contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This change is intended to decentralize disaster risk management, considering local conditions and preventing oversight of disaster risk management, which is not mandatory at the local level. It has also noted some gaps, such as the lack of standardization of emergency and early warning systems and funding at local levels. It is hoped that the system will move forward in this transition period and that the gaps will not affect effective risk management, as they have caused loss of life in past disasters. Full article
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