Extreme Events: Legal and Policy Challenges in Managing Crises

A procession of natural disasters and other extreme events continues to wreak considerable damage on Western societies and their economies. Man-made threats, both real and perceived, present an unsettling outlook: chemical, nuclear and biological terrorism, cyber-attacks and industrial accidents are ever-present concerns. At the same time, the complex, overlapping and highly diversified layers of regulatory and political environments compound the challenge of tackling extreme events, heralding a future of increased uncertainty. Using new empirical research by the authors undertaken with European Union (EU), North American, Australian and New Zealand policy officials and practitioners, this book explores the dynamics of government efforts to secure the national interest in times of crisis.

Aimed at practitioners, researchers and students in the fields of public policy, administrative, constitutional and international law, the text will articulate the fundamental policy and legislative concepts and challenges confronting Australasia, the EU and North America in the field of crisis management. By comparing different national and regional approaches this volume sheds new light on the pressing challenges impeding crisis management, infrastructure protection and the coordination of government globally and regionally. The book explores, from a comparative international perspective, the ongoing struggle between political ambitions and legal reality in crisis management and emergency law.