Risk and Society
Edited by David Denney

SAGE Publications
ISBN 0-7619-4740-X (paperback)

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In some ways the language of risk has become part of the vernacular of modern society. Few days go by without a mention of risk in the papers or on the radio and television. If Google hits can be taken a measure of significance then risk achieves 1,080,000,000 compared with 290,000,000 for George Bush, 45,000,000 for Tony Blair and 41,000,000 for the NHS.

Those of us who work as risk managers tend to focus on our own specific domains. But how often do we reflect on the way the language and perception of risk has become such a central theme in our society. The answer to this is probably not very often but there is a thriving intellectual community that does reflect on these issues.

David Denney’s book “Risk and Society” sets out to look at the social construction of risk from a number of standpoints and then relates these ideas to aspects of everyday life that many of us are exposed to. This book has an avowedly social science standpoint and thus, while mentioning quantitative risk assessment, does not address its widespread use in science, engineering and finance for example.

“Risk and Society” is divided into three sections. The first, aptly titled “Understanding Risk”, identifies six typologies of risk that can be used for interpreting the way risk is discussed in the literature; each is well described, proponents identified and strengths and weakness assessed. The six perspectives discussed are the individualistic (the prevailing orthodoxy amongst the scientific community), culturalist (Douglas), phenomenological (Schutz), risk society (Beck and Giddens), risk and governmentality (Foucault) post-modern (Bloor) and regulatory positions (Hood). For those not used to social science literature readers may struggle a little with the terminology but persistence will pay off.

The second part of the book, titled “Living in the Risk Society” looks at risk from the perspectives of every day experience thus health, social welfare, crime, professional practice and the communication of risk through the media.

In the chapter on professional practice Denney avers that the role of professionals has been diminished as a result of the introduction of what he calls new managerial relationships operating between centres of political decision-making and front line professionals. In part these formalities are there to manage blame and head off potential opportunities for litigation. The health and social services provide good examples of this phenomenon. Additionally, as people get a better understanding of risk, they become less deferential to those who once professed expert knowledge. Services and treatments tend to be negotiated rather than handed down. In the chapter on social welfare Denney discusses the intrusion of risk assessment in the mental health system as the public’s demand for protection has led to the use of risk assessment and the identification of risk factors (systematic pre-detection) to predict the possibility of undesirable outcomes before any danger has manifested itself. Such techniques, while managing the public’s risks, pose additional risks for the mentally ill; in essence there is a transfer of risk. A similar phenomenon may be discerned within the probation services. The identification and management of personal risk is also a theme much promulgated by the Labour Government as it attempts to encourage people to save for retirement and live “sensibly” in order to manage their health risks. The advent of this and other initiatives has led some to accuse the Government of developing a “nanny state” that is attempting to regulate the lives of people. We are asked to consider whether this is an encroachment on our lives or a recipe for prudence.

The final part of the book, titled “International and Global Risk” considers terrorism, the management and regulation of risk, environment, governance and what is termed the new world order. In the chapter titled “Risk and the New World Order” Denny examines, amongst other topics, the doctrine of pre-emptive military intervention as a way of managing the perceived risk of terrorism and rogue states. However, it is clear that the use of this strategy is accompanied by new risks that have not been properly appreciated and managed in their own right.

This book would have been made the richer by a more detailed consideration of the role risk management plays in engineering, science and finance and the impact that this has had on people’s lives. Finance has been transformed over the last twenty years through the development of sophisticated risk management models and the savings, pensions and investments of many people are now inexorably tied up with the use of these models. How well understood is this and if not why not? In addition the safety and reliability of modern engineering systems has been achieved, in part, by the use of quantitative and qualitative risk assessment and management techniques. Denney talks about the introduction of regulation as a reaction to engineering incidents but the same techniques are used proactively to achieve more cost effective, competitive and safer systems. Again, individually and as a society, we have come to depend on the use of these techniques and the systems they allow us to build more confidently.

David Denny is Professor of Social and Public Policy at Royal Holloway University of London and the intended audience for this book are students in the social sciences. The book is well written and well referenced and provides a compact and readable introduction to the way risk is perceived in the social sciences and for those interested in broadening their horizons it is a worthwhile read.

Roger Shaw, Head of Risk Management, City & Hackney Teaching Primary Care Trust