A Sociological Study on Structural Disaster with a Particular Focus on the Mechanism Leading to Inaction in Emergency Situation

2018 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26285107
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
• Allocation Type: Partial Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Sociology
• Research Institution: The University of Tokyo
• Principal Investigator: Matsumoto Miwao 東京大学, 大学院人文社会系研究科(文学部), 名誉教授 (50157385)
• Research Collaborator: Carson Cathryn ; Ahn Joonhong
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2019-03-31
• Keywords: 構造災

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The results of this study will be published in 2019 as an academic book, which will be published by Routledge.The purpose of this publication is to widely inform scholars and the general public throughout the world of the substantial results of the study. The substantial results of the study have been obtained by reformulating the sociology of science and technology, particularly by creating the new concept, "structural disaster". The title of the book is The Sociology of "Structural Disaster": Beyond Fukushima. The table of contents is as follows. 1“Structural disaster”behind extreme events; 2 The theory of structural disaster; 3 Institutionalized inaction by compliance; 4 Secrecy throughout war and peace; 5 A structural disaster in environmentally friendly oceanic energy development; 6 Structural disaster and the wind power regime; 7 To understand or not to understand?; 8 Conclusion.

Free Research Field

科学社会学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究の学術的意義、社会的意義はつぎの3点にまとめられる。（１）本研究は、緊急時における事例の実証研究をとおして、政策目標を基準にした成功―失敗と異なる社会的成功―失敗の次元が存在し、両者が同居する構造を社会学的に浮き彫りにした。（２）これまで十分に解明されてこなかった、間違った政策が連鎖して変更できなくなる過程に関与する信念の効果を具体的に裏付けることができた。（３）本研究の結果、局所的な目標達成には成功したにもかかわらず社会的に失敗した場合における適切な責任配分のあり方とそのような責任配分に立脚した政策軌道の転換を展望することが期待される。