Risk-regulation reflex

In the Minister s request for reflection, he refers to the risk-regulation reflex, the conceptual framework for matters of physical safety. When a clear distinction is made between uncertainty, risks, incidents and damage, then the disquiet expressed in the Minister s questions clearly concerns how politicians and public administrators respond to incidents. At issue is how they respond when physical safety is actually violated, and not their response to risks.  

The worry is that incidents in the political and administrative arena will lead to overreactions in legislation. The incident-regulation reflex (or simply incident reflex) is hence a better term for that worry than risk-regulation reflex. Can we spot an inherent pattern of political and administrative follow-up in the realm of physical safety Is the incident reflex an empirical fact, or is it a hypothesis that has yet to be tested Are we simply repeating what others have proposed, or is there solid empirical evidence  

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According to this request for reflection, the risk-regulation reflex is a persistent phenomenon that occupies a prominent place in our society. The impression left by the request is one of a government that feels overstretched, overburdened and overly sensitive. 

Are there reference points for dismantling existing mechanisms and breaking through barriers associated with both the risk-regulation reflex and the reflex in which the responsibility is laid squarely at the feet of government ... 

Chapter 2 considers the risk-regulation reflex problem, i.e. the conceptual framework applied within the context of the Risks and Responsibilities programme. We argue that this discourse in fact centres on political and administrative conduct (or misconduct) in incidents. That is why we prefer the term incident-regulation reflex or simply incident reflex . 

Reflex is viewed unilaterally as something negative in this context, not only as hasty but also as an inexpedient or even foolish reaction. However, the author who coined the term risk-regulation reflex has pointed out that it is in fact a positive, activistic reflex to which our culture owes many of its virtues, such as a historically unprecedented level of physical safety. In biology as well, every reflex has a purpose. An organism s chance of survival depends in part on its ability to react quickly to real or potential disruption. According to the... 

In Chapter 2, we argued that the discourse about the risk-regulation reflex in fact centres on political and administrative conduct (or misconduct) after an... 

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