People and Politics in the Aftermath of Floods

Dr Catherine Butler

2013/14 Winter Floods and Change

• Previous research has theorised that events offer opportunity for change (Kingdon, 1995; Baumgartner and Jones, 1993) as assemblages of publics, knowledge and politics are brought into view

• Flood events have been identified as catalysts for the transformation of environmental policy and human behaviour (Johnson et al. 2004; 2005; Spence et al. 2011)

• However, these are also times of heightened stress which tends to manifest in frustrated and highly charged contestation and confrontations between those affected and those in positions of authority

• Less well understood is why continuities persist at times of crisis and how the dynamic processes of reframing that occur in the immediate aftermath of events determine the extent of change and continuity in public policy and practice.

In-depth longitudinal research – Somerset case studySemi-structured interviews with flood affected public (n=36 x 2), flood professionals (n=28 x 2), August 2014 - May 2015 Survey of flooded areas – Somerset and Boston (June 2015)

Divisions and contestation in flood risk management

“The overarching lesson learned from the events of winter 2013/14 is that left unchecked, flooding will become increasingly

socially divisive and that Government needs to work with scientists, engineers and local stakeholders to plan and deliver long-term solutions to flooding problems that are otherwise

likely to escalate unacceptably in a ‘business as usual’ future”.

(Thorne, 2014: 307)

Divisions, contestation, politics and power

• Knowledge controversies ‘spark publics into being’ (Marres, 2005) and see the constitution of political capabilities (e.g. Whatmore and Landstrom, 2011)

• Flood events can be seen as times when publics are sparked into being – could offer openings for improving resilience, resistance and relations between stakeholders and practitioners

• Modes of governing, issue framings, and their consequences (Stirling, 2014; Vink et al. 2014)

• Social contracts (Rawls, 1971; O’Brien et al. 2009; Adger et al. 2012)

On the publics sparked into being…

On obscuring nuance… “…it’s quite clear I think in my mind that that’s the only way that we’re going to reduce the need for being rescued because once we’ve put all the adaptation and mitigation in place, then we just learn to live with it, we expect it to come, our houses are dry because we’ve designed the schemes which will do that, whether it means moving higher up or as I said, building new ones that can move with the floods, then those are the kind of solutions I’d like to see coming forward because it feels like this all happened, people get fixed up and then suddenly what is going on? Like they might be beavering away up there but you know …” (Public 1)

“I guess again what we thought was that the conversations that have been taking place over the last five or so years, by Environment Agency in the process of producing a catchment flood management plan, that process and the thinking and the dialogue that’s been happening with the local authority and the community, that all seemed to be thrown away.” (SH2)

On obscuring and entrenched frames…“So what has happened over the years, I understand the expansion of urban areas and all the rest of it and land management systems have changed, but I think that has had an impact and that’s why I'm not a great believer in only dredging. The dredging is just removing silt that’s been washed down from somewhere, you've got to actually deal with what’s happening upstream and it’s very clear that it’s not just a recent problem but it’s been happening over a period of time.” (Public 23)

“I think [dredging] it’s part of the long term answer. An essential part of the long term answer.” (Public 19)

On distance between social actors… Yes, bereavement really, the loss of community that we’ve all suffered… there has been a lot of ill feeling actually and it’s quite difficult because for a lot of people, there has been a lot of inequality in what’s happened, it does seem that some insurance companies have done more than others, the volunteers have helped some people and not others so it has made a lot of ill feeling and I think some of it will never go. Some of it will sort of subside but a lot of it will never go and I think it’s a shame because it’s a nice normal friendly little place to live, you know… (Public 2)

Gideon Mendel Art – drowning world

…you can’t fight it and I think that’s what’s really amazing, the way it makes you feel, it’s safe and lovely and beautiful that you live near this water and then suddenly when it invades your space, you just, you can’t really describe it, it just makes you feel really out of kilter, very unnerving and shocked, I would guess I was in shock (Public 25)

On distance and othering…

“Not really because they were being told what to say, the EA was in denial, no doubt about it, they just thought it would go away and they’d done what they could and there was one particular chap who came on television, I think people practically threw something at their televisions, he was so arrogant about the whole thing. …obviously didn’t have the slightest idea what was going on and couldn't seem to care less either, that was in the early days before it all went horribly wrong”. (Public 3)

…the Environment Agency got a lot of media hatred and on social media they got so much hatred, death threats and everything, we had staff who were getting beaten up trying to put up flood defences, it was awful. (SH11)

So I guess getting the locals to realise that we’re human, I’ve spoken to quite a few people about my personal sacrifice this summer and getting them to realise that we’re trying, we’re not working against them… (SH8)

Concluding Thoughts…

• Social contracts and societal expectations (Rawls, 1971; O’Brien et al. 2009; Adger et al. 2012)

• Modes of governing – pluralism (Vink et al. 2014) and system shocks or stresses (Stirling, 2014)

Thank you

Dr Catherine Butler @drcbutler

c.butler@exeter.ac.uk