Examining the Illusion of Control: Single Truths, Complexity and Disaster Resilience

We have been shocked by images of devastation - of people stranded on roof tops, often with children and pets in Australia; of whole villages being washed away in Germany; and catastrophic wildfires in the United States. In the face of this chaos people look for certainty. Robert Pycroft observes, “in our efforts to survive and flourish, we have a tendency to try and reduce uncertainty to provide us with at least the illusion of control as we try to navigate the multitude of systems in which we live, leading to an innately reductionist approach” (2014, p.15). We see this inclination to reduce the complexity of disasters in a myriad of forms in disaster preparedness and resilience. It enables the mobilization of expert knowledge as a ‘single truth’ which actively precludes other knowledges, particularly subjugated localised knowledges. Those involved in resourcing communities for disaster may fail to acknowledge the complexity of disasters framing their work in a simplistic, linear, manner: Awareness = Preparedness = Ready and resilient. The disaster field is awash with technological ‘solutions’ for example apps (Red Cross Get Prepared), websites (Fires Near Me) and twitter (@NSWSES). This constant stream of information seeks to facilitate ‘control’ and hence safety. Increasingly we are also seeing the production of programmatic solutions to resilience building, cookie cutter style, despite the rhetorical acknowledgement of diversity.

This session explores the dangers of this need to ‘control’ as well as pondering what community and institutional practices might better respond to the complexities of disasters.