Towards New Disaster Governance: Subsidiarity as a Critical Tool

Abstract

Major natural disasters are events where day-to-day governance activities are disrupted and a large range of different actors - governmental and non-governmental - are required to (re)act. Given the inherently chaotic nature of disaster events, and the diverse groups responding to their attendant impacts, clarity about how authority and responsibility are allocated across key disaster management actors is essential. This raises numerous pertinent questions: Are there areas of shared competence between different disaster management actors? Is there a need for them to act in common? Is credible cooperation feasible? Can responsibilities be allocated in a clear and effective manner? In this pap..