Potential Global Strategic Catastrophes

Potential Global Strategic Catastrophes PDF Author: Nayef R. F. Al-Rodhan
Publisher: LIT Verlag Münster
ISBN: 3643800045
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 322

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Book Description
This book is the result of a Symposium on Potential Global Strategic Catastrophes, which took place in Geneva, Switzerland in 2008. The catastrophes chosen do not include remote and less immediate events. Only those with the potential to produce multiple cascading strategic dilemmas for states and the international system were selected. These dilemmas include balancing the sovereign rights of states with human rights, transnational responsibilities and burden-sharing under occasional geopolitical uncertainties. The book deals with the theoretical foundations of coping with catastrophes and the relevant inter-state and organisational paradigms. Other sections address specific catastrophes and their potential consequences: pandemics, water crises, global warming, nanosecurity, nuclear catastrophes, financial meltdown, cyber crises, demographic imbalances and forced migrations, state failure and war, massive conventional terrorist attacks and threats to energy supply. Dr. Nayef R.F. Al-Rodhan is Senior Scholar in Geostrategy and Director of the Programme on the Geopolitical Implications of Globalisation and Transnational Security at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy, Geneva, Switzerland. "The tremendous power of globalisation unleashed some two decades ago demonstrates in fact how fragile the planet is. Never in history has man faced simultaneously seemingly unlimited opportunities and equally unlimited daunting threats and challenges. Potential Global Strategic Catastrophes is a remarkable publication based on the collective thoughts of some of the world's leading thinkers covering a broad spectrum of reality, the catastrophes that might ensue and the strategic implications. It is an excellent map for the 21st century." Jean-Pierre Lehmann, Professor of International Political Economy, IMD and Founding Director of The Evian Group, Lausanne, Switzerland.

World of Risk

World of Risk PDF Author: Mark Haynes Daniell
Publisher: World Scientific
ISBN: 9789812387592
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 330

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Book Description
This book takes a fresh and critical look at the leading sources of global risk ? terrorism, disease, crime, poverty, environmental damage and others ? and sets out a practical way to respond far better than we have to each risk area.Drawing from his state-of-the-art knowledge of global strategy as applied in the business world, the author provides analysis, insight, realistic strategies, and hope for a better way forward. His foresight has already been demonstrated. Early in the year 2000, he wrote: ?Sadly, the history of mass terrorism is just about to be written. ? Even the US is no longer a safe haven from foreign or local terrorists. ? US policing has done little to limit the operations of terrorist Osama bin Laden. ? The vulnerability of large government and civilian buildings and even military targets has also contributed to an increase in the scale of potential harm.?Without a more informed set of strategies and better global leadership, the catastrophe of 9/11 will only be a forerunner of many more disasters in the future. We can do much better. This important book shows us how.

Learning from Catastrophes

Learning from Catastrophes PDF Author: Howard Kunreuther
Publisher: Pearson Prentice Hall
ISBN: 0137067240
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 351

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Book Description
Events ranging from Hurricane Katrina to the global economic crisis have taught businesspeople an unforgettable lesson: if you don’t plan for “extreme risk,” you endanger your organization’s very survival. But how can you plan for events that go far beyond anything that occurs in normal day-to-day business? In Learning from Catastrophes, two renowned experts present the first comprehensive strategic framework for assessing, responding to, and managing extreme risk. Howard Kunreuther and Michael Useem build on their own breakthrough work on mitigating natural disasters, extending it to the challenges faced by real-world enterprises. Along with the contributions of leading experts in risk management, heuristics, and disaster recovery, they identify the behavioral biases and faulty heuristics that mislead decision makers about the likelihood of catastrophe. They go on to identify the hidden links associated with extreme risks, and present techniques for systematically building greater resilience into the organization. The global best-seller The Black Swan told executives that “once in a lifetime” events are far more common and dangerous than they ever realized. Learning from Catastropheshows them exactly what to do about it.

The Economic Impacts of Natural Disasters

The Economic Impacts of Natural Disasters PDF Author: Debarati Guha-Sapir
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199841934
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 341

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Book Description
This work combines research and empirical evidence on the economic costs of disasters with theoretical approaches. It provides new insights on how to assess and manage the costs and impacts of disaster prevention, mitigation, recovery and adaption, and much more.

Natural Disasters and Climate Change

Natural Disasters and Climate Change PDF Author: Stéphane Hallegatte
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319089331
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 214

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Book Description
This book explores economic concepts related to disaster losses, describes mechanisms that determine the economic consequences of a disaster, and reviews methodologies for making decisions regarding risk management and adaptation. The author addresses the need for better understanding of the consequences of disasters and reviews and analyzes three scientific debates on linkage between disaster risk management and adaptation to climate change. The first involves the existence and magnitude of long-term economic impact of natural disasters on development. The second is the disagreement over whether any development is the proper solution to high vulnerability to disaster risk. The third debate involves the difficulty of drawing connections between natural disasters and climate change and the challenge in managing them through an integrated strategy. The introduction describes economic views of disaster, including direct and indirect costs, output and welfare losses, and use of econometric tools to measure losses. The next section defines disaster risk, delineates between “good” and “bad” risk-taking, and discusses a pathway to balanced growth. A section entitled “Trends in Hazards and the Role of Climate Change” sets scenarios for climate change analysis, discusses statistical and physical models for downscaling global climate scenarios to extreme event scenarios, and considers how to consider extremes of hot and cold, storms, wind, drought and flood. Another section analyzes case studies on hurricanes and the US coastline; sea-level rises and storm surge in Copenhagen; and heavy precipitation in Mumbai. A section on Methodologies for disaster risk management includes a study on cost-benefit analysis of coastal protections in New Orleans, and one on early-warning systems in developing countries. The next section outlines decision-making in disaster risk management, including robust decision-making, No-regret and No-risk strategies; and strategies that reduce time horizons for decision-making. Among the conclusions is the assertion that risk management policies must recognize the benefits of risk-taking and avoid suppressing it entirely. The main message is that a combination of disaster-risk-reduction, resilience-building and adaptation policies can yield large potential gains and synergies.

Global Trends 2040

Global Trends 2040 PDF Author: National Intelligence Council
Publisher: Cosimo Reports
ISBN: 9781646794973
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 158

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Book Description
"The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic marks the most significant, singular global disruption since World War II, with health, economic, political, and security implications that will ripple for years to come." -Global Trends 2040 (2021) Global Trends 2040-A More Contested World (2021), released by the US National Intelligence Council, is the latest report in its series of reports starting in 1997 about megatrends and the world's future. This report, strongly influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic, paints a bleak picture of the future and describes a contested, fragmented and turbulent world. It specifically discusses the four main trends that will shape tomorrow's world: - Demographics-by 2040, 1.4 billion people will be added mostly in Africa and South Asia. - Economics-increased government debt and concentrated economic power will escalate problems for the poor and middleclass. - Climate-a hotter world will increase water, food, and health insecurity. - Technology-the emergence of new technologies could both solve and cause problems for human life. Students of trends, policymakers, entrepreneurs, academics, journalists and anyone eager for a glimpse into the next decades, will find this report, with colored graphs, essential reading.

Capitalizing on Catastrophe

Capitalizing on Catastrophe PDF Author: Nandini Gunewardena
Publisher: Rowman Altamira
ISBN: 9780759111035
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 292

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Book Description
Capitalizing on Catastrophe critically explores the phenomenon of "disaster capitalism," in which relief efforts for natural disasters and other large-scale disruptions are contracted out to private companies.

A Safer Future

A Safer Future PDF Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309045460
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 85

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Book Description
Initial priorities for U.S. participation in the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction, declared by the United Nations, are contained in this volume. It focuses on seven issues: hazard and risk assessment; awareness and education; mitigation; preparedness for emergency response; recovery and reconstruction; prediction and warning; learning from disasters; and U.S. participation internationally. The committee presents its philosophy of calls for broad public and private participation to reduce the toll of disasters.

Global Strategic Developments

Global Strategic Developments PDF Author: The Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research
Publisher: Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research
ISBN:
Category : Antiques & Collectibles
Languages : en
Pages : 48

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Book Description
The world today faces numerous challenges, including the ongoing fallout from the financial crisis and varied and diverse examples of violence and conflict across the globe. Combined with the many changes affecting both the regional and global balance of power – such as the apparent decline of the United States, the growing influence of the East, and the evolving role of international organizations – these challenges have led some to question how global power will be distributed in the coming two decades. All nations are exposed to the influences of international policy and ongoing developments in the world order. Understanding these developments, as well as the associated implications for international security and stability, enables national policy makers to identify and capitalize on strategic opportunities. A future strategic vision for the Gulf must encompass a range of issues, including internal, regional and global aspects. The states of the region must develop stronger domestic resilience by binding citizens to the state in a way that reduces its vulnerability to malign transnational forces. Gulf states will wish to further deepen their links to the countries of the East—particularly states such as South Korea, Japan, Australia, China and India, all of whom have different ways that they can contribute to regional stability. They may also wish to be exporters rather than merely importers of security, contributing to international missions authorized by the UN and other international bodies. States that have this sense of international social responsibility become more vital to the global system as a whole. The GCC states will also wish to revive and increase the flexibility of their regional security apparatus, perhaps to engage Iran, Iraq and Yemen, and gain more control of immediate regional dynamics. Driving regional security in this way will partly insulate the GCC countries from the diplomatic initiatives of others that may not be consistent with GCC interests. Furthermore, the GCC states will seek to build stronger institutional links among themselves, deepening the co-operation and contacts between the civil servants of the member countries so that diplomacy between them is derived from disciplined organizational procedures. Just as each state has to develop its domestic resilience, so through institution-building should the GCC strengthen its corporate resilience. Overall the Gulf states need to develop an increasingly global outlook, even as they deal with internal challenges. They must find more ways to engage productively in the broader security dialogue of the region, with outside actors from Europe, North America and Asia. In the age of globalization, the states of the region need to be very mindful of the place good governance has in ensuring that the rest of international society is able to effectively engage with the Gulf states.

Know Risk

Know Risk PDF Author: International Strategy for Disaster Reduction
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Emergency management
Languages : en
Pages : 384

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Book Description
Presents a selection of examples and experiences of disaster reduction that responds to the need for identifying good practices and sharing experiences and information.