Paper Info
Title
Interconnected networks and the governance of risk and trust
Abstract
Interconnected networks constitute the backbone of our society and bring many advantages to our daily life and activities. At the same time, however, our dependence on these networks and the fact that they are all interconnected makes our society vulnerable. Risks emerge from these interdependencies. How can society deal with these risks? To answer this question we first explore the closely related concepts of risk and trust. These explorations enable us to understand the implications of interconnected networks in terms of governance challenges. On the basis of this insight, we conclude that it is impossible to define risk as a 'general' policy concept. A major policy challenge in the governance of risk is not only the interplay of all kinds of networks and infrastructures, but also the interplay between diverse policy regimes with different governance models. We have discerned a number of specific governance models that can be used to handle the risks resulting from interconnected networks and infrastructures. Following Ashby's law of requisite variety, the variety of risks in the network society asks for a variety of risk governance models, in which different values are attached to the role of government, the private sector and the civil society.
Year
Venue
Keywords
2005
Information Polity
policy concept,major policy challenge,governance challenge,diverse policy regime,network society,civil society,specific governance model,risk governance model,different governance model,interconnected network,society deal,risk,interconnection,networks,governance,trust
Field
DocType
Volume
Interdependence,Risk governance,Civil society,Corporate governance,Economic system,Public relations,Private sector,Variety (cybernetics),Network society,Government,Business
Journal
10
Issue
Citations 
PageRank 
1
0
0.34
References 
Authors
0
2
Name
Order
Citations
PageRank
Victor Bekkers121116.97
Marcel Thaens2815.31