Homeland Security Project

By amplifying a loaded slogan, the Michigan representative isn't helping anyone's cause.

Instead of addressing lax gun laws, Americans fixate on what the authorities might have done differently.

Juliette Kayyem asks: How did Israel not see it coming?

Juliette Kayyem writes that the government is trying to suppress the message that insurance companies are sending about climate change.

Juliette Kayyem writes

Emergency-management agencies in the United States and other Western powers have far-reaching capabilities to save lives. But their abilities are not magical. Fundamentally, people need to be partners in their own safety, advises Juliette Kayyem.

In November 2022, the Belfer Center, with support from McKinsey & Company, brought together a diverse group of leaders from the emergency management community to discuss the evolving nature of emergency management, the challenges the enterprise faces, and solutions and strategies to better prepare for the new, poly-crisis climate. Among those leaders were Homeland Security Advisor (Colo.) Kevin Kleinand State Coordinator and Deputy Homeland Security Advisor (Va.) Shawn Talmadge. They graciously agreed to participate in a facilitated dialogue with Belfer Center Fellow Nate Bruggeman to further explore the themes and issues discussed in November 2022.

In November 2022, the Belfer Center, with support from McKinsey & Company, brought together a diverse group of leaders from the emergency management community to discuss the evolving nature of emergency management, the challenges the enterprise faces, and solutions and strategies to better prepare for the new, poly-crisis climate. Among those leaders were former FEMA Administrator Pete Gaynor and former Deputy Administrator Rich Serino. They graciously agreed to participate in a facilitated dialogue with Belfer Center Fellow Nate Bruggeman to further explore the themes and issues discussed in November 2022.

For those of us in crisis management roles, when something goes wrong, it starts as a challenge and then escalates to a problem. Problems then grow to become any one of three broadly interchangeable words: emergencies, disasters, or crises. For this discussion, I combine emergencies and disasters into the bucket of crisis. Many feel that the reality of emergency management is no longer “disaster”-specific but is more broadly the all-inclusive concept of a crisis. A problem becomes a crisis when we lose our ability to cope, and a part of the system becomes overwhelmed. Crises become catastrophes when the resources and structures meant to respond to that crisis become overwhelmed and break down. Something can be catastrophic at the local level but perhaps just a crisis at the regional or national level, and much of that nuance depends on someone’s on-the-ground perspective and historical experience.

Juliette Kayyem analyses the threat of violence from Trump's supporters: Worrying about whether the base is emboldened is not the correct metric; the thing to watch is whether the number of supporters who are inclined to violence is growing.