Policy Networks in Disaster Management: A Case Study of the Hebei Spirit Oil Spill

Abstract

Due to rapid social change, the government does not have enough resources to manage urgent situations such as natural disasters. Recently, research on cooperative disaster management systems has increased, making it possible to respond to disasters more effectively. A "policy network" model is utilized to analyze the relationships among actors, with a particular focus on actors' behavior and network structure. Key findings are as follows: First, the participants in a disaster response network include the government sector as mandated by law, and the nongovernmental sector, which represents various interest groups. Second, the interactions especially among government departments or among NGOs, are dynamic as participations frequently engage and work with each other. Interaction between other sectors, however, is relatively low. Third, the policy network tends to form conflict-ridden relationships with low credibility. The low level of credibility among other sectors created obstacles to cooperative partnership and can increase the costs of disaster management in the long term.