Short description:

Taking a sober, analytical look at policies, results, and lessons learned, this comprehensive reference combines theory and practice to address concerns in border and transportation security, emergency preparedness and response, science and technology, information analysis, and infrastructure protection. Presenting practical, reasoned arguments, it reviews both specific threats as well as the global threat of terrorism. Using applicable case studies, it draws on the real-world experiences of practitioners and the analysis and policy proposals of academics to provide advice on planning, preparedness, prevention, and recovery.

Long description:

Blinded by emotional rhetoric, political posturing, and genuine fear, previous efforts to defend our way of life against aggressors intent on inflicting personal and economic destruction have proven, in hindsight, to be misguided, panicked, and reactionary. Evaluation and assessment to date is largely focused on reviewing government documents, doing little to alleviate the distorted perspectives from which we vainly attempt to invoke workable policy.

In contrast to much of the current literature, Homeland Security Handbook takes a sober, analytical look at the policies, results, and lessons learned in what is still a nascent field. This comprehensive reference considers the myriad factors, implications, and ramifications involved with the practical and effective protection of our safety.

Dividing contributions into five sections, this book?

Conscious of the multi-faceted nature of the problem, the editor combines theory and practice to address concerns in border and transportation security, emergency preparedness and response, and infrastructure protection.

Table of Contents:

INTRODUCTION AND THEORETICAL CONSTRUCTS. The New Normal. Lessons Learned: A Comparison of the Uniform Militia Act of 1792 and the Homeland Security Act of 2002. Homeland Security: A ??One-Stop Shop?? Approach. Securing Homeland Security: Immigrant Responses to State and Citizenship. Homeland Security Agencies in Selected Southern States: Case Studies in Politics, Organizations, and Policies. Homeland Security: Emerging Discipline, Challenges, and Research. TERRORISM, EXTREMISTS MOVEMENTS, AND WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION. Understanding New Global Multicellular Terrorism. The Abu Sayyaf Group and Maritime Terrorism. Promise and Perils of Politicized Islam in Africa. Environmental Terrorism: A Weapon of Mass Destruction for the Future. Pandemics and Biological/Chemical Terrorism Attacks: A New Role for Disaster Mental Health. Terrorism as Societal Conflict Resulting in Response. PLANNING, PREVENTION, PREPAREDNESS, RECOVERY, AND ASSISTANCE. Profiling. Metropolitan Medical Response Systems: Coordinating the Healthcare Response to Terrorist Incidents. eSAFE: The Knowledge Management System for Safe Festivals and Events. Collaborative Preparedness: The U.S. Department of Homeland Security?s Ready Campaign. CASE STUDIES. Homeland Security Preparedness and Planning in City Governments: A Survey of City Managers. Reorganizing for Homeland Security: The Case of Norway. Behavioral Change and Border Crossing: The Effects of 9-11 on Cross-Border Traffic Five Years Later. Continuity and Change in Disaster Response: Victim Management in the Case of the World Trade Center Collapse. FINANCIAL AND ECONOMIC IMPACTS. Homeland Security Administration and Finance: A Survey of Texas County Officials. Border Closures in the Southern United States: Measuring the Economic Impact of a Sustained Crisis. Index