Expanding Social Science Through Disaster Studies

Abstract

Objectives. This article provides an overview of how the interdisciplinary field of disaster studies contributes to the social sciences. Methods. The following themes are explored in relation to the articles contained in the special issue: disasters are social and political phenomena that generate policy change, disasters reflect and affect democratic governance, and disasters reveal shared experience and collective identity. Results. Disaster studies bridge the social sciences theoretically and methodologically. Given the scope of disaster impacts-across social, political, economic, ecological, and infrastructure spheres-and the policy response they garner involving public, private, and civic actors, they offer a lens by which to see society and politics in a way that no other critical events can. Conclusion. Disaster studies offer important applications of social science theories and concepts that expand the field, broaden our reach as social scientists, and deepen our understanding of fundamental social processes and behaviors in meaningful ways.According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA, 2018), disasters in the United States with price tags over $1 billion have risen from two per year in 1980 to more than 10 per year in 2017. For the more than 200 events NOAA has tracked and documented, the United States has sustained over $1.5 trillion in damages and costs. Increases in the frequency of extreme-weather events have combined with 24-hour media cycles to bring disasters to the forefront of domestic and global policy agendas. Amidst this attention, social scientists explore disaster-prompted research puzzles by engaging in the interdisciplinary field of disaster studies.Natural and engineering sciences have a part to play in disaster studies, though a disaster is more than physical characteristics of a natural or technical hazard event. A disaster is spurred by a critical hazard event, but it is characterized by the social disruption it causes (Quarantelli, Lagadec, and Boin, 2007; Reinhardt 2015b). Disasters are socially constructed, occurring only when hazards intersect with social vulnerabilities, political institutions, and individual perceptions (Paton, 2006). Social sciences, fundamentally concerned with understanding motives and reasons for action (Winch, 2015), are therefore ideal for studying the social, economic, and political causes and consequences of disasters.With this special issue, we make the case that disaster studies is an interdisciplinary field not only relevant to, but important for the development of, the social sciences. The articles herein demonstrate how the study of disasters helps us apply core social science theories to expand our understanding of fundamental human behaviors, highlighting disasters as human-centric phenomena that permeate cross-disciplinary boundaries. Both separately and collectively, we present a picture of disasters as social and political phenomena

Gender in the time of COVID-19: Evaluating national leadership and COVID-19 fatalities

“…Second, critical to this debate is the fact that disaster outcomes are not merely dependent on leadership now, but also on preparation that took place previously [ 36 , 37 ]. Strong disaster preparedness systems would have protocols in place for confronting threats such as a pandemic that today’s leaders need only activate, adapt, and implement, meaning that women leaders today will be better placed to manage pandemics if they can rely on preparedness and policies made by leaders in the past.…”

Covid-19, STATE CAPACITY, AND POLITICAL VIOLENCE BY NONSTATE ACTORS

“…Recently, researchers began to pay more attention to the role of disasters and unplanned critical events (e.g., Reinhardt & Ross, 2015; -especially those engendered by environmental shocks such as droughts, floods, and heatwaves (e.g., Bagozzi et al, 2017;von Uexkull et al, 2016;Ide, 2016) -in generating conflict and violence. Scholars have identified several potential pathways linking environmental shocks with conflict, including through exacerbating grievances (e.g., von Uexkull et al, 2016;Ide, 2016), intensifying competition over agricultural resources (Bagozzi et al, 2017), and increasing strain on food and traditional herding systems (e.g., Bellemare, 2015;Döring, 2020).…”

Representation of disasters in school textbooks for children with intellectual disabilities in Iran: A qualitative content analysis

“…The social division in the community determines the risk and vulnerabilities of disasters [4]. In other words, disasters reflect the vulnerabilities caused by the society [5].…”