Catastrophe And Systemic Change Learning From The Grenfell Tower Fire And Other Disasters

The Grenfell Tower tragedy was the worst residential fire in London since World War II. It killed seventy-two people in the richest borough of one of the wealthiest countries in the world. Like other catastrophic events before it and since, it has the power to bring about lasting change. But will it? The historical evidence is weighed against ‘lessons being learned’ in a meaningful or enduring way. In an attempt to understand why, despite enormous efforts, we persistently fail to learn from catastrophic events, this book uses the details of the Grenfell fire as a case study to consider why we don’t learn and what it would take to enable real systemic change. The book explores the myths, the key challenges and the conditions that inhibit learning, and it identifies opportunities to positively disrupt the status quo. It offers an accessible model for systemic change, not as a definitive solution but rather as a framework to evoke reflection, enquiry and proper debate. Catastrophe and Systemic Change is a must-read book for a wide range of readers including those interested in change management, leadership, policy-making, law, housing, construction and public safety.

The story of Disaster Action, a charity founded by survivors and bereaved people from major disasters.

The Grenfell Tower fire of June 2017 is one of the most tragic political events in British history. This book argues that preparedness for disasters has always been designed in the interests of the State and Capital rather than citizens. This was exemplified by the ‘stay put’ strategy at Grenfell Tower which has historically been used to socially control racialised working class groups in a disaster. ‘Stay put’, where fire safety is compromised along with strategic ambiguity, probabilistically eliminates these groups. Grenfell Tower is a purposive part of ‘Disaster Capitalism’, an asocial racial and class eliminationism, where populations have become unvalorisable and disposable. We have reached a point where even the ruling class are fleeing from the disasters and chaos they have inflicted on the world, retreating to their billionaire bunkers. This timely book will be of interest to sociologists, social theorists and activists in understanding the racialised, classed and capitalist nature of contemporary disasters.

The UK’s Changing Democracy presents a uniquely democratic perspective on all aspects of UK politics, at the centre in Westminster and Whitehall, and in all the devolved nations. The 2016 referendum vote to leave the EU marked a turning point in the UK’s political system. In the previous two decades, the country had undergone a series of democratic reforms, during which it seemed to evolve into a more typical European liberal democracy. The establishment of a Supreme Court, adoption of the Human Rights Act, Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish devolution, proportional electoral systems, executive mayors and the growth in multi-party competition all marked profound changes to the British political tradition. Brexit may now bring some of these developments to a juddering halt. The UK’s previous ‘exceptionalism’ from European patterns looks certain to continue indefinitely. ‘Taking back control’ of regulations, trade, immigration and much more is the biggest change in UK governance for half a century. It has already produced enduring crises for the party system, Parliament and the core executive, with uniquely contested governance over critical issues, and a rapidly changing political landscape. Other recent trends are no less fast-moving, such as the revival of two-party dominance in England, the re-creation of some mass membership parties and the disruptive challenges of social media. In this context, an in-depth assessment of the quality of the UK’s democracy is essential. Each of the 2018 Democratic Audit’s 37 short chapters starts with clear criteria for what democracy requires in that part of the nation’s political life and outlines key recent developments before a SWOT analysis (of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) crystallises the current situation. A small number of core issues are then explored in more depth. Set against the global rise of debased semi-democracies, the book’s approach returns our focus firmly to the big issues around the quality and sustainability of the UK’s liberal democracy.

'This humane, accessible and lucid work will enlighten any voter, and remind any would-be – or currently serving – politician of the pitfalls to avoid' – TLS As the list of U-turns grows ever longer, the cost of living crisis intensifies and mortgage rates rise, we really need those in charge to get it right. In Why Governments Get It Wrong, Cambridge's Professor Dennis C. Grube gives a timely and incisive examination of the pitfalls, failures and successes of those in power around the world. We live in an era when we really need governments to be effective – the economy, our health and the future of the planet are at stake – but so often they can seem clueless, and their decisions leave us confused. With insight and wit, Grube explains how governments can improve their decision-making and, by examining fascinating case studies, he highlights the key factors that make for effective government. With the stakes higher than ever before, this original and important book is an essential read for any concerned citizen who wants to understand why governments make the wrong decisions and, crucially, what can be done about it. 'Convincing' – David Lammy MP 'A must-read' – Sebastian Payne, author of The Fall of Boris Johnson ‘Highly original and very entertaining' – Gavin Esler, author of How Britain Ends 'There is a real gap for this book' – Isabel Hardman, author of Why We Get the Wrong Politicians

What we know of war is always mediated knowledge and feeling. We need lenses to filter out some of its blinding, terrifying light. These lenses are not fixed; they change over time, and Jay Winter's panoramic history of war and memory offers an unprecedented study of transformations in our imaginings of war, from 1914 to the present. He reveals the ways in which different creative arts have framed our meditations on war, from painting and sculpture to photography, film and poetry, and ultimately to silence, as a language of memory in its own right. He shows how these highly mediated images of war, in turn, circulate through language to constitute our 'cultural memory' of war. This is a major contribution to our understanding of the diverse ways in which men and women have wrestled with the intractable task of conveying what twentieth-century wars meant to them and mean to us.

Available Open Access under CC-BY-NC licence. Disasters are an increasingly common and complex combination of environmental, social and cultural factors. Yet existing response frameworks and emergency plans tend to homogenise affected populations as ‘victims’, overlooking the distinctive experience, capacities and skills of children and young people. Drawing on participatory research with more than 550 children internationally, this book argues for a radical transformation in children’s roles and voices in disasters. It shows practitioners, policy-makers and researchers how more child-centred disaster management, that recognises children’s capacity to enhance disaster resilience, actually benefits at-risk communities as a whole.

Making Sense of Construction Improvement provides a critical evaluation of the construction improvement debate from the end of the Second World War through to the modern era. The book offers unique insights into the way the UK construction sector is continuously shaped and re-shaped in accordance with changes in the prevailing political economy. This second edition brings the book up to date by including coverage of key trends from 2010–2023. The book has been substantially revised and reworked to include new material relating to the ‘age of austerity’ and the subsequent period of political uncertainty initiated by the Brexit referendum. Changes in the political economy are positioned alongside the rise of the sustainability agenda and the advent of ‘zero carbon’. Particular attention is paid to the ongoing skills crisis and the over-hyped advocacy of modern methods of construction (MMC) as the latest supposed panacea of industry improvement. Coverage includes the Farmer (2016) report Modernise or Die and the Construction Playbook (HM Government, 2020). However, perhaps the most important addition is a focus on the Grenfell Disaster (2017) and the subsequent revelations from the public enquiry. Further intermediate milestones include Building a Safer Future (Hackitt, 2018) and the Construction Sector Deal (HM Government, 2018). The emerging consensus points towards a systemic failure involving not only the construction sector but also the entire system of regulation and compliance. Tracing the failings back over time and scrutinising the role played by previous generations of policymakers, Stuart Green ultimately argues that Grenfell was a disaster entirely foretold. The insightful and critical analysis of the industry contained within these pages is essential and timely reading for anyone who wants to understand how the construction sector arrived at where it is today, and with that knowledge, give further thought to where it might go next.

The best country-by-country assessment of human rights. The human rights records of more than ninety countries and territories are put into perspective in Human Rights Watch's signature yearly report. Reflecting extensive investigative work undertaken by Human Rights Watch staff, in close partnership with domestic human rights activists, the annual World Report is an invaluable resource for journalists, diplomats, and citizens, and is a must-read for anyone interested in the fight to protect human rights in every corner of the globe.