The role of forensic investigation in systemic risk enquiry: reflections from case studies of disasters in Istanbul, Kathmandu, Nairobi, and Quito

TY - JOUR

T1 - The role of forensic investigation in systemic risk enquiry

T2 - reflections from case studies of disasters in Istanbul, Kathmandu, Nairobi, and Quito

AU - McDermott, Ronan

AU - Fraser, Arabella

AU - Ensor, Jon

AU - Seddighi, Hamed

N1 - © 2022 The Authors. Funding Information: The authors are grateful to the participants in the study. The study was undertaken as part of the Tomorrow's Cities project, which is funded by the UKRI Global Challenges Research Fund under grant reference NE/S009000/1. Pooja Singh recommended helpful literature resources.

PY - 2022/12/1

Y1 - 2022/12/1

N2 - The systemic nature of risk is increasingly acknowledged within scholarship, policy and practice relating to disaster management. However, a number of conceptual and methodological challenges arise in advancing empirical inquiry in this regard. These challenges relate to how the boundaries of the system are determined both spatially and temporally, how expertise from across disciplines is integrated to allow for consideration of institutional and broad socio-economic drivers of risk in addition to physical drivers, and, crucially, how causality operates within system complexity. The potential of forensic investigations of disasters that typically deploy in-depth case studies to overcome these obstacles is evaluated on the basis of causal mapping with experts from a range of disciplinary backgrounds in Istanbul, Kathmandu, Nairobi and Quito. It is found that such investigations can serve to interrogate the fundamental value of any given system and its spatial and temporal bounds, generate collective mental models of the system from which risk emerges, and drive reflection on its root causes. However, it is critical that forensic investigation approaches carefully consider participant selection and facilitation in order to effectively operationalise the systemic risk concept in complementarity with other approaches.

AB - The systemic nature of risk is increasingly acknowledged within scholarship, policy and practice relating to disaster management. However, a number of conceptual and methodological challenges arise in advancing empirical inquiry in this regard. These challenges relate to how the boundaries of the system are determined both spatially and temporally, how expertise from across disciplines is integrated to allow for consideration of institutional and broad socio-economic drivers of risk in addition to physical drivers, and, crucially, how causality operates within system complexity. The potential of forensic investigations of disasters that typically deploy in-depth case studies to overcome these obstacles is evaluated on the basis of causal mapping with experts from a range of disciplinary backgrounds in Istanbul, Kathmandu, Nairobi and Quito. It is found that such investigations can serve to interrogate the fundamental value of any given system and its spatial and temporal bounds, generate collective mental models of the system from which risk emerges, and drive reflection on its root causes. However, it is critical that forensic investigation approaches carefully consider participant selection and facilitation in order to effectively operationalise the systemic risk concept in complementarity with other approaches.

KW - Forensic investigations

KW - Qualitative methods

KW - Systemic risk

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85141995117&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.pdisas.2022.100262

DO - 10.1016/j.pdisas.2022.100262

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85141995117

SN - 2590-0617

VL - 16

JO - Progress in Disaster Science

JF - Progress in Disaster Science

M1 - 100262

ER -