Disaster Relief: The Politics of Intergovernmental Relations

• NCJ Number: 121727
• Author(s): R M Stratton
• Date Published: 1989
• Length: 212 pages
• Sale Source: University Press of America
• Publication Type: Legislation/Policy Description
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study examines U.S. disaster policy, using three case studies to determine how local, State, and Federal governments response to the disaster and how these governments related to each other.

Abstract

Disaster policy and its implementation, involves a unique system of Federal aid which has been increasingly generous and susceptible to manipulation; the complex dynamics and the interaction between different levels of government provide a demonstration of intergovernmental relations (IGR). This study is an example of IGR implementation research, which attempts to reconstruct the activity and events which occur in the delivery of governmental services. IGR implementation research also explains the reasons why events happen as they do. The first step of the process is to describe the content of United States disaster statutes. The second task is to discover the actual implementation of these statutes in solving problems of specific disasters, using governmental documents, statements, writings and interviews of key participants, and media accounts. The governmental actors of most interest are elected officials at the executive level of government, their legislative counterparts, and bureaucrats in the disaster agencies, rescue units, and relevant satellite units. Extra-governmental actors include volunteer agencies, political parties, interest groups, the media, and notable private citizens. A study of the policy environment focuses on pre-disaster conditions, local governmental preparedness and economic capacity, and key political resources. The study examines the response of Federal, State, and local governments to three disasters experienced in New York State: the Syracuse flooding problems in 1974, the Buffalo blizzard of 1977, and the chemical waste emergency at Love Canal in 1978. The study concludes that tragic circumstances, heightened publicity, and the unique role of elected executive officials favors local and State efforts as they bargain to obtain Federal emergency assistance. 4 tables, 2 appendixes, chapter references.