Crisis Communication, Liberal Democracy, and Ecological Sustainability: The Threat of Financial and Energy Complexes in the Twenty-First Century

(Hardback)

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Description

Crisis Communication, Liberal Democracy, and Ecological Sustainability provides a detailed and empirical analysis of the institutions, governing logics, risk-management practices, and crisis communication strategies involved in the 20072008 financial crisis, the 2010 BP oil crisis, and the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear crisis. These human-engineered crises threaten sustainability through resource depletion, environmental degradation, and the growth of geo-political conflicts. Yet, the corporations responsible have returned to profitability by externalizing risks to communities and governments. In response to this pattern of crisis management, Nadesan argues that contemporary financial and energy complexes pose significant threats to liberal democracy and ecological sustainability. This book will be of interest to scholars of communication studies, cultural studies, sociology, political science, anthropology, and economics.

Reviews

A penetrating account of the cause and the aftermath of three disasters: the 2008 financial crisis, the BP oil spill in the Gulf, and the Fukushima nuclear meltdown. Nadesan shows how the alliance of nation state interests and powerful corporations, under a neoliberal philosophy, harmed the citizens of Japan and the United States, and wreaked serious ecological damage in the oil and nuclear cases. Her viewpoint goes far beyond the usual analysis of these crises by examining the institutional forces that enabled them. The indifference to the public good which links them all, along with the secrecy, cover-ups, denials, and failure to take remedial steps in the aftermath is thoroughly documented. -- Charles Perrow, Yale University

Author Bio

Majia Nadesan is professor of communication studies at Arizona State University.