Editors' foreword.

When disasters strike, ecological damage reverberates across regions, local outbreaks become transnational pandemics, environmental changes stress socities, and famines and drought feed into the complex and devastating logic of conflict. As a result, the distinction between natural and manmade disasters blurs. The interdependence of governments, civil society and international institutions becomes undeniable in the face of emergencies that are as devastating as any human-born conflict. In short, disaster is a fundamental element of globalization.

The Spring/Summer 2006 issue of the Journal of International Affairs takes inventory of the inadequacies of traditional approaches to disaster response and preparedness. Since 11 September 2001, many governments, especially in developed countries, have been preoccupied with combating terrorism or bracing for attacks on their own soil. At the same time, the international community has acknowledged the plight of the world's poorest and most vulnerable by malting commitments to eliminate poverty, promote sustainable development and enhance social welfare in the Global South, as articulated by the UN Millennium Development Goals. However, a recent spate of catastrophes that are unusual if not unprecedented in scale--the Indian Ocean tsunami, Hurricane Katrina and the South Asia earthquake--have garnered extensive media coverage and stretched thin the response capacities of governments and humanitarian aid organizations. The attendant consequences underscore the need to redefine conceptions of national security, environmental protection and public health, and to link disaster management to development strategies.

International forums such as the 2005 World Conference on Disaster Reduction in Kobe, Japan and the resulting Hyogo Protocol have attempted to bring policy attention to disaster risk reduction. Yet several barriers remain. For one, economic liberalization and deficiencies in political accountability tend to inhibit the incorporation of disaster risk management into mainstream policy and practice. However, as practitioners and administrators recognize a disaster's complicating factors, technological and strategic advances provide hope for responding to future calamities, so long as the political will to do so exists.

More than offering a critique, then, our contributing scholars and practitioners explore efforts to create frameworks that locate natural catastrophes within the context of security and development. In the process, they chart the challenges faced by state and non-state actors in addressing the causes of these threats, and in building the capacity to tackle them when they materialize, with a view to restoring people's lives in their aftermath.

To frame the issue, David Alexander provides a snapshot of the prevailing international modes of responding to calamity and assesses the prospects for major changes to these approaches. He posits that while the increasing reach of mass media and other technologies have raised international awareness of natural catastrophes and enabled mobilization of relief mechanisms, growing imbalances in global economic and political structures have exacerbated the impact of disaster. Although local self-sufficiency may form the basis for resilience before a disaster strikes, it is typically not until the aftermath of disaster that the international community provides the necessary resources.

The articles that follow address specific aspects of the so-called disaster management cycle: prevention, mitigation and preparedness...

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