ABSTRACT
Following K. Neumann, security is not everything, but everything without security may be nothing. This statement seems to increase in importance in the present day, in the age of disasters. Climate change, hotspots of military conflicts, natural hazards, and the cascading effect of threats development reflect the current determinants of disaster risk reduction (DRR) and also shape national security. International emergency mechanisms are tangible ways to connect these issues in consistent organisational formulas. The United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC), the International Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG), the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), and the Union Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM) are characterised by different operational frameworks, potential, initiation procedures, and good operational practices. Each of them has a different relationship to DRR with regard to shaping national security. Nevertheless, particular mechanisms may reduce disaster risks and increase a level of national security in many ways. The more possibilities in the context analysed, the more effective and flexible may be the processes of disaster preparation, response and recovery. Particular case studies highlight the practical use of international emergency mechanisms regarding relevant strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. They may serve to identify good practices to be used by politicians, public authorities (crisis managers, disaster managers, emergency managers), public services, and other security entities when they launch the mechanisms or implement some operational standards, structures, etc. DRR and the shaping of national security appear to be aspects that are crucial for modern-day human existence. International emergency mechanisms are able to ascribe to them with ‘ready-to-use’ organisational solutions and resources. From this perspective, it is worthwhile continuing this body of research in order to take the next steps in the directions emphasised in this book.
