The nature-human dichotomy within disaster governance

This chapter explores how nature–human relations are articulated in the context of disaster governance in Northern Finland. Much of modern organising, including within disaster governance, is premised on separating the realms of nature and humans/society. Yet, the realities and local understandings of disasters defy the neat dichotomy. The chapter focuses on disaster governance practitioners, wedged between the modern state and local perspectives. While in the practitioners’ personal accounts nature and human can be entangled, their professional views construct a dichotomy between nature and society. Problematising the dichotomy can help us imagine alternative and responsible ways of organising nature–human relations.