Conclusion

Abstract

From the Bhola cyclone in 1970 to the earthquake in Armenia in 1988, from Hurricane Mitch in 1998 to the Tōhoku and Fukushima disaster in 2011, an international world of natural disasters has developed progressively over the years. This has been the result of several decades of work conducted by actors from a range of different backgrounds. First of all, it was necessary to make it clear that “natural” disasters constituted events that were beyond the exclusive competency of national actors, and circulate this idea in different spheres until it reached the international “agenda.” The notion of disaster itself had to be debated among scientists so as to specify what needed to be done to prevent or confront them. Moreover, this notion then had to carve out a place alongside already established UN agencies that were hardly enthusiastic about sharing their mandate and funding, and then establish digital conventions providing a perspective on the scope of these events at the global level. A shared language was needed, along with norms and standards that could harmonize the myriad different—often divergent, or even competing—ways of doing things. This process is not complete; it is ongoing and continues to guide the work of thousands of people around the world. It will undoubtedly continue to shape the world of “natural” disasters in multiple ways in the years to come. This research could continue, yet it has come to an end, and it is now a question of drawing more general conclusions about what the observation of such a process can teach us.