Politics of Catastrophe

In Politics of Catastrophe, the author examines how unpredictable events shape governance and knowledge, urging a rethinking of political strategies in the face of impending threats.

This book explores the concept of catastrophe as a unique framework for governing unpredictable future events such as terrorism, climate change, and pandemics. These occurrences can strike suddenly and without warning, often resulting in irreversible damage. The author delves into how society has come to understand and manage these looming threats, highlighting the challenges posed by our inability to predict them accurately.

In an era where the notion of catastrophe has become a defining aspect of our collective consciousness, the text examines how anticipatory knowledge is reshaped in response to an ever-present sense of impending doom. While it shares similarities with crises, disasters, and risks, Politics of Catastrophe posits that true catastrophes expose the limitations of our knowledge and management strategies. The politics surrounding these events are oriented towards an uncertain future that must be imagined and engaged with to become comprehensible and actionable.

This critical assessment of emerging practices in understanding and governing future catastrophes invites readers to reconsider conventional approaches. It challenges the audience to explore the potential for alternative political frameworks that can better address the complexities and uncertainties of catastrophic events. Students and scholars in fields such as critical security studies, risk theory, political theory, and International Relations will find this book particularly insightful.