The Social Determination of Risk

Critical Infrastructure and Mass Transportation Protection in the Norwegian Civil Aviation Sector

In order to understand threats to society it is of primordial importance to understand how different individuals and groups in different social settings appreciate and value threat. The SORISK project contributes to this understanding by mapping out and differentiating the cultural and societal determinations of risk and relating these understandings to a concrete case study from the Norwegian aviation industry.

The principal objective of the project is to formulate a socially based theory of risk and apply it to aviation security in the Norwegian setting. This objective involves three primary segments:

•  the theoretical development of a socially-based theory for risk analysis;
•  an adaptation to the social and cultural setting particular to Norway; and
•  a case study applying the theory to the Norwegian aviation industry, in collaboration with AVINOR.

The SORISK project is a collaboration between the University of Stavanger's Department of Risk Management and Societal Safety and PRIO's Security Programme. The project will run from 2007 through 2010 and is part of the broader SAMRISK programme on Societal Security and Risk, funded by the Research Council of Norway.  The premise of the SAMRISK programme is based on the importance of understanding underlying causes of crises and preventing them from taking place. Thus, the programme aims to enhance knowledge about threats, dangers and vulnerability as well as crisis prevention and crisis management, whilst upholding and respecting basic human rights and privacy.