Complexity and chaosMuch is known today, from a theoretical standpoint, about the dynamics of chaotic and complex events. Yet there is little practical application of such modern science in the field of Institutional Emergency Management, say Michel Nesterenko and Patrick Lagadec.
When you make one - or a couple - of deadly mistakes, you fix the problem; this is tactical common sense. When you discover a series of repetitive flaws, you can change the rules; this is doctrine. When confronted by a constant flow of fiascos, the fundamental concepts at the core of visions, goals and practices must be reinvented. Five years after 9/11 and one year after Katrina, we have reached this point.
The issue is not that gaps persist in the security net, but that our understanding of the very purpose of the net is outdated. We need courageous new creative vision and daring leadership.
The full text appears in Volume 3 Issue 1 of the Crisis Response Journal.
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