Integrative Risk Governance: A Case Study of the Ebola Virus Disease

Abstract

Epidemic outbreaks threaten jurisdictions beyond domestic boundaries and affect diverse societal interests. How to properly handle them therefore becomes an issue of interest for all stakeholders and individuals. To address this issue, a case study of the current EVD outbreak may be instructive. How can we explain the risk handling process in the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreak? The central argument is that if the EVD outbreak affects jurisdictions beyond domestic boundaries and diverse societal interests, its handling should be integrative. To be integrative, the handling should engage both technical and societal inputs, and coordinate stakeholders at domestic and global levels. Hence, integrative risk handling requires an interdisciplinary method and a global governance approach. Meanwhile, the classical model of risk analysis appears to be less integrative while the emerging risk governance model, in an attempt to improve the classical model, seems to be substantially integrative. With the help of secondary data and its qualitative analysis, focused literature review, non-participant observation, and empirical investigation of the risk analysis model alongside the adaptive and integrative risk governance model of Klinke and Renn (2012), the result shows that the current risk handling approaches perform differently at domestic and global scales. At the domestic level, the prevailing approach substantially shows elements of risk analysis but lacks the basic elements of risk governance. At the global level, the prevailing approach fully incorporates the elements of risk analysis but not fully those of risk governance. Applying the Klinke & Renn model to upgrade risk analysis may address the latter’s deficiencies and make risk handling outcomes more suitable for stakeholders and individuals. Although the analysis excludes the adaptive elements of the model, it shows the model could make risk analysis more integrative and incorporate risk handling variables more accurately. The conclusion is that the handling of epidemics should be more integrative within a comprehensive global governance framework.