Title: Divergences or complementarity within the research into crises in France?

Authors: Claude Gilbert, Emmanuel Henry

Addresses: Directeur de recherche au CNRS (PACTE), Axe Risques, MSH-Alpes, BP 47, 38 049 Grenoble cedex 9, France. ' Maitre de Conference, Institut d'etudes politiques de Strasbourg, Groupe de Sociologie Politique Europeenne, GSPE-PRISME (CNRS UMR 7012), 47, avenue de la foret noire, 67082 Strasbourg cedex, France

Abstract: This paper provides a panorama of French research on crises and asks if the different approaches currently employed are divergent or complementary. The first approach centres on crises related to major risks; the post-accidental crises appear to emanate from the |outside|. The second approach emphasises that in the time of |new risks|, crises analysis must be formulated by starting from the social processes which transform certain social conditions into crises. The crises now appear to emerge from the |interior|, the |inside|. The question is to know if these two current approaches of research can be connected today and enrich each other or if they will continue to remain separated.

Keywords: crisis analysis; public policy; major risks; environment; public health; France; emergency management; risk assessment.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEM.2006.010276

International Journal of Emergency Management, 2006 Vol.3 No.1, pp.5 - 11

Published online: 12 Jul 2006 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article