ABSTRACT
Of all of the issues considered in this volume (entirely) man-made accidents, in their various forms, are least frequently thought of, and hence acted upon, as matters of security. However, unnatural structural or mechanical failings represent a major risk to human life throughout the world and it is a risk that has grown over time and looks likely to continue to do so. The absence of explicitly threatening causal factors, be they non-human or human with ‘malice aforethought’, has led to accidents being, to a certain extent, accepted as ‘one of those things’ and safety from them not becoming securitized in the same way as other causes of harm. Most accidents, though, are wholly unnatural and rooted in contemporary human societal practices that are becoming more widespread throughout the world. As such, ‘technological’ and ‘traditional’ accidents are actually no more unavoidable than other social systemic problems such as war and crime. In particular, accidents have underlying socio-economic causes inextricably linked to the global politico-economic system. As for all the issues of global security, with accidents the not so fickle finger of fate points in familiar directions: towards the poor and the weak. This is clearly illustrated in a telling statistic about globalization and security: the Global South has 20 per cent of the world’s cars but 80 per cent of the world’s fatalities from car crashes (WHO 2004).
