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We live in disastrous times, where disasters are increasing in frequency, scale, cost and severity. They are part of the modern condition, a source of physical anxiety and of existential angst. Paradoxically, at the height of their necessity, disaster scholars find themselves on the intellectual periphery. In particular, they cite a lack of adequate theory for their marginality. This book seeks to address this, bringing together disaster research and social theory to offer a critical examination of disasters, their causes, consequences and future avoidance. Matthewman gives particular emphasis to those novel forms of risk that arise from unprecedented levels of interconnectivity and the complexity of our socio-technical arrangements. There is a long-held notion in social theory that life only reveals itself in moments of rupture. This book argues that disasters reveal three things: who we are, what is wrong with our systems, and what we can do about this.
