To Örebro University

In the era of globalization, i.e. the growing influence of global processes in local, national and regional arenas, natural disasters are considered a ‘global’ problem. In this context, global networks have led to significant achievements in disaster risk reduction (DRR) but they have also presented obstacles and challenges, often endogenous to the system’s complexity. It is necessary therefore to understand this complexity in order to enhance its benefits and reduce its constraints. The purpose of the paper is to introduce a PhD project that aims to gain a better understanding of the role of global networks in building resilience worldwide, focusing particularly on norms, rules and steering mechanism that shape behaviors, attitudes and beliefs. Resilience is defined as the capacity of a community potentially exposed to hazards to resist, absorb, and adapt in order to cope with natural disasters. The preliminary content analysis on the Hyogo Framework for Action and related documents showed that there are instruments and shared practices, a common language, and institutions engaged in DRR. Consequently, there are patterns of a nascent system of global governance that encompasses cooperative measures to solve problems on global scale, in which diverse actors interact through different channels establishing steering mechanisms.