The Consequences of Global Disasters

Disasters of the 21st century differ substantially from other kinds of hazards that previous societies have had to cope with because of the twin forces of globalization and the communications revolution. But what makes today’s disasters—industrial, technological, environmental, and socio-cultural—so different in scope and impact? What are the possible disasters of the future? And how can we, as collective humanity, best manage and respond to the globalization of disasters?

The Consequences of Global Disasters makes a distinctive contribution to the ever-expanding field of disaster research by developing a multi-contextual, multi-disciplinary and multi-methodological approach to the social analysis of disasters. Anthony Elliott and Eric L. Hsu have brought together a highly distinguished group of international contributors to focus on how people react to the unsettling effects of disasters, which come in a multitude of forms. Numerous contributors concentrate on the cultural, political and psychological ramifications of the 2011 Great East Japan earthquake and tsunami, but disasters in other contexts, such as Australia, China and Haiti, are considered as well.

By offering unique empirical, methodological and theoretical insights, The Consequences of Global Disasters sets an agenda for future developments in the field of disaster research and will be a key resource for students and scholars working in social science disciplines such as sociology, cultural studies, international relations, psycho-social studies, social work, Japanese studies and social theory.

Anthony Elliott is Director of the Hawke Research Institute and Executive Director of the Hawke EU Centre, where he is Research Professor of Sociology at the University of South Australia. He is also Global Professor (Visiting) of Sociology at Keio University, Japan.

Eric L. Hsu is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Hawke Research Institute and co-leader of the ‘Community Reactions to Disasters’ research node at the Hawke EU Centre at the University of South Australia.