Common Challenge — Different Response? The Case of H1N1 Influenza

Abstract

Dealing with epidemics constitutes an undisputable part of civil security governance. Of all communicable diseases, the pandemic influenza is probably the most feared by both policymakers and health practitioners (Kamradt-Scott, 2012, p. 90). However, due to high levels of uncertainty which require contentious political choices it also challenges the most common view of disaster management, which typically focuses on technical and natural disasters in a narrow sense. Pandemics are a type of risk of a supranational and sometimes even of a global scale. In case of an emergency, coordinated action is needed in order to control the spread of the illness within and across borders. At the same time, actions are undertaken basically within the national jurisdictions. Thus, there is a tension between nationally focused efforts and coordinative demands.