Introduction

Abstract

Risk1 is about interdependence.2 Risk has become a central and complex feature in the development of our interconnected and globalized world. Large-scale disasters are often referred to as “mega risks,” (4 p. 3) “systemic risks,” (4) or simply as “global risks.” Examples include hurricanes or floods, effects of climate change, new diseases such as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), food-related diseases such as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), terrorist attacks such as September 11, disruptions of critical infrastructures, such as cross-border power grids, and disruptions to air travel, such as the 2010 eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano. These risks are complex and highly uncertain. They are characterized by the great speed with which they occur and the magnitude of their potential effects in terms of geographic coverage and impact on human lives, as well as economic and social costs. If the nature of these risks is not new, then the context within which they occur has changed. Intensification of trade and travel, greater intangible transborder exchanges, and demographic trends and migrations, as well as environmental changes have made societies more vulnerable to events that occur in other parts of the world.3KeywordsBovine Spongiform EncephalopathySevere Acute Respiratory SyndromeGlobal RiskRisk GovernanceAvian Influenza H5N1These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.