Disaster Risk Governance: Four Cases from Developing Countries

Disaster Risk Governance offers the first extensive engagement with disaster risk governance in the Caribbean and Sub-Saharan Africa. In the last decade and a half Kenya, Jamaica, Dominica, and Zanzibar have all suffered massive destruction from disasters caused by natural hazards. Despite the tremendous investments in disaster risk reduction (DRR), disasters have wiped out the developmental gains of these countries.

In this book, Denise Thompson argues that disaster risk governance (DRG) as a practical and academic matter has not been given the attention it deserves, and as a result, this neglect has undermined the time, money and resources invested in DRR in developing countries since the late 1970s and early 1980s. Thompson proposes that properly conceptualizing DRG based on context will help to address some of the deficiencies. Consequently, DRG needs to become a central focus, particularly for developing countries.

Written with real-life implications for developing countries, Disaster Risk Governance is perfectly suited for practitioners and researchers in area studies, disaster risk reduction and disaster governance, as well as students of disaster studies.

Denise Thompson is a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice of the City University of New York. Her research work and publications focus on disaster risk reduction and governance, vulnerability and disaster supply chain and logistics in multi-state systems in the Caribbean and Sub-Saharan Africa. In addition to her research work Denise Thompson teaches classes in public policy, organization theory and emergency management and works to develop curricula and program improvement initiatives to improve student learning outcomes in these areas.