Politics of Hazard Mitigation

Abstract

The formulation, adoption, and implementation of mitigation measures is an intensely political process that hazards professionals need to understand if they are to be effective in reducing community hazard vulnerability. We describe the process by which either focusing events such as disasters, or policy entrepreneurs such as involved professionals, can frame hazard mitigation as a salient issue on the community agenda. In addition, we discuss the demands of policy formulation, particularly the importance of mobilizing a constituency for hazard mitigation among affected stakeholders in the community. Finally, we conclude by showing how a widely used model of policy implementation reveals critical features that community hazard mitigation policies must have if they are to be implemented successfully by administrative bureaucracies.