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Disaster Policy and Politics
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Disaster Policy and Politics
Emergency Management and Homeland Security

Fourth Edition
March 2026 | CQ Press
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Disaster Policy and Politics combines evidence-based research with mini-case studies of recent events to demonstrate the fundamental principles of emergency management and to explore the impact that disasters have had on U.S. policy. Paying special attention to the role of key actors—decision makers at the federal, state, and local levels; scientists; engineers; civil and military personnel; and first responders—author Richard Sylves explores how researchers contribute to and engage in disaster policy development and management.

The highly anticipated Fourth Edition explores the radical change in policy and politics after the occurrence of recent disasters. The book’s comprehensive “all-hazards” approach introduces students to the important public policy, organizational management, and leadership issues they may need as future practitioners and leaders in the field.
 
 
Tables, Figures, and Boxes
 
Preface
 
About the Author
 
Chapter 1: Disaster Management in the United States
The Champlain Towers Collapse

 
The Fundamentals

 
Emergency Management as a Profession

 
Disasters as a Field of Scientific Research

 
Presidential Disaster Declarations

 
Fundamental Challenges of Emergency Management

 
Phases of Emergency Management

 
Summary

 
Key Terms

 
 
Chapter 2: Theories of Public Policy and Management Helpful in Disaster Studies
Normative Political Theories

 
The Role of Theory in Emergency Management

 
Theory in Disaster Recovery

 
Knowledge Codification and Knowledge Diffusion Issues

 
Data Analytics and Emergency Management

 
Summary

 
Key Terms

 
 
Chapter 3: A History of U.S. Disaster Policy
The Cold War and The Rise of Civil Defense

 
Nationwide Emergency Management

 
Federal Emergency Management Organization Before FEMA

 
The Birth of FEMA

 
Disaster Declaration Issues

 
Disaster Law, Policy, and Public Relations from Reagan to Clinton

 
The 9/11 Attack Remakes U.S. Disaster Management

 
Summary

 
Key Terms

 
 
Chapter 4: Presidential Declarations of Major Disaster or Emergency
The U.S. Constitution and Emergency Powers of The President

 
The “Policies” And Laws That Established Presidential Disaster Declarations

 
The “Process” Followed in Requesting Presidential Declarations

 
The President’s “Power” to Decide

 
The “Politics” of Presidential Declarations

 
“Paying” For Presidential Disaster Declarations

 
Summary

 
Key Terms

 
 
Chapter 5: Social Justice, Climate Change, Civil Unrest: Buffalo, NY & Portland, OR
Buffalo’s 2022 Mega-Blizzard

 
Snow in Meteorological Terms

 
Survival and Political-Social Controversy

 
Response to the Blizzard and its Effects

 
Public Works and Sheltering

 
Equity and Social Justice Issues

 
Social Equity and Portland’s Bureau of Emergency Management

 
Social Equity as a Focus of Local Hazard Mitigation

 
Summary

 
Key Terms

 
 
Chapter 6: Intergovernmental Relations in Disaster Policy
The Political Geography of U.S. Subnational Governments

 
Ways in Which America’s Governments Formally Cooperate and Plan

 
Ways in Which America’s Governments Formally Cooperate and Plan

 
Home Rule and Municipalities

 
Federal-State Agreements

 
The Regional Geography of FEMA

 
State Government Homeland Security, Emergency Management and Military Departments

 
The Frameworks and The National Incident Management System

 
Intergovernmental Disaster Management Challenges

 
Government Contractors and Disaster Management

 
Summary

 
Key Terms

 
 
Chapter 7: Civil-Military Relations and National Security
Civil Defense to Homeland Security

 
The Military’s Role in Disaster Response and Recovery

 
The Military, Homeland Security, and Disaster Policy

 
Posse Comitatus

 
Homeland Security, National Security, Federalism

 
State Homeland Security

 
Operation Stonegarden

 
The Emergency Management Performance Grant Program

 
Summary

 
Key Terms

 
 
Chapter 8: FEMA in Peril
FEMA and a Re-elected President Trump

 
FEMA at Risk

 
Partisan Politics, The President, and Congress

 
Why Partisan Polarization Abounds and Moves toward the Extreme

 
Presidential Executive Orders

 
FEMA Loses BRIC

 
FEMA’s Quandary

 
FEMA and the DOGE Chain Saw

 
What Trump’s Evolving Changes to FEMA Mean for State and Local Governments

 
Presidential Disaster Declarations: Uncertainty Abounds

 
FEMA and the Emergency Management Profession

 
Summary

 
Key Terms

 
 
Chapter 9: The Pandemic, A Hurricane Rebuild, & Two City Burning Wildfires
The Coronavirus Pandemic of 2020-2023: FEMA’S Role and Experience

 
Trump1, Biden, FEMA, and the Pandemic

 
Mobilization and the Response to COVID-19

 
FEMA, The CDC, and the U.S Health Care System

 
Hurricane Idalia Case Study: A Homeowner’s Recovery Experience in St. Petersburg, Florida

 
Lesson #1: Stay informed, get online, join your neighborhood Facebook (Meta) group before a storm, and prepare for post-disaster contractors

 
Lesson #2: Understand insurance, public and private, and become a quick study in matters of government disaster assistance to individuals and households

 
Lesson #3: Know how disaster insurance works and appreciate the rules that insurers impose

 
Lesson #4: Mortgage Companies, the Rebuilding Experience, and Homeowner Flood Mitigation

 
Postscript: A Year Later, Hurricanes Helene and Milton Re-damage the Homeowner’s Newly Repaired House

 
The Lahaina Fire Disaster, Hawaii, August 2023

 
Conditions Leading Up to the Disaster

 
Impact Assessment of the Lahaina Fire Disaster of August 2023

 
Physical Impact & Economic Consequences

 
The Palisades and Eaton Wildfires Los Angeles County, California, January 2025

 
Causes of Casualties in the Wildfires

 
Summary

 
Key Terms

 
 
Chapter 10: Conclusions and the Future
Is U.S. Disaster Policy Morphing into Something Different?

 
Policy, Politics, and Institutions

 
What Is Happening To Federal Emergency Management?

 
Follow the Money

 
Biden, Trump, FEMA, and Why Budgeting Matters

 
Political Upheaval and DHS

 
For-Profit Contractors, Whistleblowing, And Science Integrity

 
Summary

 
Key Terms

 
 
Glossary
 
Notes
 
Master Bibliography
 
Index

This is a textbook that provides a great amount of insight and research into a well-rounded view of emergency
management. I am not aware of any other textbook in publication which provides the background this resource does.

Professor Eric Griffin
University of North Carolina, Wilmington
Review

This is an accessible introductory text to disaster and emergency management that can be used in undergrad and graduate courses.

Professor Jason D. Rivera
SUNY Buffalo State
Review
Key features
NEW TO THIS EDITION:
  • A new chapter on disaster management during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • A new chapter on recent developments in FEMA and disaster policy under the second Trump administration.
  • New case studies throughout the text reflect the current context in the field.
  • Updated data throughout the text.

KEY FEATURES:
  • "Tell Me More" boxes dive deeper into concepts in the text.
  • Key concepts are bolded in every chapter and listed again at the end of each chapter to help students easily recognize which terms are important to comprehend.  
  • A master bibliography and index appears at the end of the book to offer instructors and students opportunities to conduct further research. 
  • Research drawn from political science and public administration demonstrates that emergency management continues its maturation into a profession. 
  • A critical look at the civil-military relations and homeland security shows students how the National Guard is an instrument of federal and state government and has long played a role in disaster management. 

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