It highlights the importance of building organizational capacity by focusing on the coordination of public resources and underscores the relevance of legitimacy by emphasizing the importance of public perceptions, attitudes, and trust vis-à-vis government arrangements for crisis management.

1. Organizing for Societal Security and Crisis Management: Combining Governance Capacity and Legitimacy by Tom Christensen, Per Lægreid and Lise H. Rykkja.- 2. Organizing for Societal Security and Crisis Management in Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and United Kingdom by Johannes S. Førde, Per Lægreid, Kristin Rubecksen and Lise H. Rykkja.- 3. Beyond Loose Couplings in Crisis Preparedness: The Role of Coordination Agencies in Sweden and Norway by Ole Andreas Danielsen and Johannes S. Førde.- 4. The Flood Crisis in Germany 2013 by Werner Jann, Bastian Jantz, Alexander Kühne and Lena Sculze- Gabrechten.- 5. Flood Crisis Management in England by Martin Lodge.- 6. Only Trees Burning? The Mid- Sweden Forest Fire of 2014 by Fredrik Bynander.- 7. A Toxic Cloud of Smoke: Communication and Coordination in Transboundary Crisis by Arjen Boin, Sanneke Kuipers and Tim de Jongh.- 8. The 2015 RefugeeCrisis in Sweden: A Coordination Challenge by Gunnar Myrberg.- 9. Suburban Eruption – The Management of Social Unrest in the Suburbs of Stockholm in 2011 by Fredrik Bynander and Mats Koraeus.- 10. The 2011 London Riots: Civil Disorder and Government Non-Reponses by Martin Lodge.- 11. Changes in the Norwegian Central Crisis Management After the Terrorist Attacks in 2011 by Susan B. Jensen, Per Lægreid and Lise H. Rykkja.- 12. Crisis Management Capacity in Central Government: The Perceptions of Civil Servants in Norway by Tom Christensen and Per Lægreid.-13. A Political Assassination and a Crisis of Legitimacy: The Murder of Pim Fortuyn by Arjen Boin, Sanneke Kuipers and Tim de Jongh.- 14. The Refugee Crisis in Germany- New Coordination Structures to Repair Organisational Legitimacy by Ina Radtke and Julia Fleischer.- 15. Countering Fear: Democratic States` Ability to Ease Citizens`s Fear of Terrorism by Dag Arne Christensen and Jacob Aars.- 16. Counterterrorist Legislation and Beliefs in Democracy: A Longitudinal Study by Dag Arne Christensen, Jacob Aars and  Lise H. Rykkja.- 17. The July 22 Terrorist Attacks in Norway and Citizens` Attitudes Towards Counterterrorist Authorities by Dag Arne Christensen and Jacob Aars.- 18. Governance Capacity and Legitimacy Revisited by Per Lægreid and Lise H. Rykkja.  

This book studies governance capacity and governance legitimacy for societal security and crisis management. It highlights the importance of building organizational capacity by focusing on the coordination of public resources and underscores the relevance of legitimacy by emphasizing the importance of public perceptions, attitudes, and trust vis-à-vis government arrangements for crisis management. The authors explore several cases and identify relevant dimensions concerning performance, capacity and legitimacy across different countries. It is an ideal volume for audiences interested in public administration, public policy, crisis management and security studies. Per Lægreid is Professor at the Department for Administration and Organization Theory, University of Bergen, Norway.  Lise H. Rykkja is Associate Professor at the Department for Administration and Organization Theory, University of Bergen, Norway, and Research Professor at Uni Research Rokkan Centre, Norway.  

“Among the many important contributions of this volume, two are absolutely essential for advancing our understanding of effective crisis management:  the first is to illuminate how governance capacity and legitimacy productively interact; the second is to use cross-national comparative analysis to demonstrate the crucial influence of organizational arrangements and institutional context.” (Christopher Ansell, Professor, University of California, Berkeley, USA)“This important book on societal security and crisis management adds value to the growing literature in this field. The contributors not only study elements of governance capacity but also the less often examined dimension of governance legitimacy. The comparative approach covers five European countries and includes fourteen in-depth case studies authored by prominent scholars in the field. Academics and advanced students as well as practitioners of public sector crisis management would benefit from reading this volume.” (Bengt Sundelius, Professor, Swedish Defence University, Sweden) “Whether triggered by nature, accidents or conflict and intent, crises challenge the capacity of governments to deliver effective and coordinated responses to what are often tense, fluid and uncertain circumstances that defy geographic and jurisdictional boundaries. More often than not, their very occurrence also challenges the legitimacy of governments, who are after all supposed to prevent unsettling, disruptive and dangerous events from happening. This timely book draws on cross-national data and topical case studies of crisis management response systems to show that governments at all levels have much learning and adaptation ahead of them if they want to become more astute and authoritative crisis managers than they have recently proved to be. A major accomplishment and a must-read for crisis management practitioners, scholars and students alike.” (Paul 't Hart, Professor, Utrecht University and Netherlands School of Public Administration, Netherlands)

Provides new and unique insight on government capacity for crisis management, including case studies from five European countries Presents new academic research from a cross-disciplinary team of researchers in Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands, Germany, and the United Kingdom Includes case studies on different types of crises, including flood management, forest fires, the refugee crisis and central government organization for dealing with terrorism and crises Offers insight on attitudes towards national states counterterrorist activity and democracy by analyzing large-scale citizen surveys